


The White Rose - Rise To Power

by angelholme



Series: The White Rose Saga [1]
Category: Elite - Fandom
Genre: Conspiracy, Drama, Future, Science Fiction, Trilogy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-15
Updated: 2015-09-10
Packaged: 2017-10-13 16:44:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 34,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/139444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelholme/pseuds/angelholme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eloise Jensen is part of a secret society that protects The Confederation against enemies both foreign and domestic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Rise To Power

**Author's Note:**

> This is a the first part of a saga set in the world of "Elite" (a video game from the early eighties, and possibly one of the best games ever released). It was the first series of stories I wrote, approximately fifteen years ago.
> 
> This is sort of a "Redux" version - it was originally posted on another site, and I am going to correct some of the problems as I repost it now.

  
_"Aggression is the best weapon in a fighters arsenal,  
providing that it can be directed properly  
Of all the things that can lay a person low,  
there is nothing so dangerous as aggression misguided"_   


  


Clexia Neibon

There were very few beings in the galaxy who could remember a time when they were not at war. Since the earliest days of humanity there had always been a threat, and with the death toll reaching nearly three billion in the last century the stakes were escalating.

Now, for the first time, there was hope. The scale of the attacks was lessening, the number dropping. And in the most recent battle the Navy had captured their first "remote craft" and could - finally - find out more about the alien threat known only as 'The Thargoids'


	2. Alpha Three

  
**The Convoy**   


"Alpha Three standing by" She replied, answering the call from Alpha Leader. They had formed up around the carrier ship, ready to escort it to the destination. Normally a convoy such as this would be a small scale affair - going via witch-space to the base in deep space.

But this was no normal convoy. In the hold of the carrier ship was a Thargon - the remote fighter ships that has caused so much damage in recent years. The ConFed Council hoped the Navy's special research division could take it apart and find out how it worked. Then maybe they could finally start to turn the tide in the war that was threatening to engulf The Confederation.

"Ok Alpha Squad - this is how it's going to go" The Squad Leaders voice came through her headphones. "We move out in formation, then once we are clear of the faraway point we go to high speed. The journey should take about eight hours". Eloise smiled as she heard the groans come through the mikes, then the leader's voice came back on "I know it is a long flight, but the threat of hijack in witch space is too great, and this cargo is too precious"

"Ma'am?" The voice of Alpha Two came through.

"Yes"

"What if we are attacked?"

"The protection of The Clexia is paramount. Chase any attacking craft away, but once they are out of firing range come back. Any other questions?" When none came back she continued "Okay. We have flight clearance. Lets move out. Alpha Three - take point"

Eloise smiled again and engaged her engines. She was widely known as the best pilot in the local Navy. She was frequently called on for flight displays and the like.

"If only they could have seen my first time out" She thought "Now that was some novel flying!"

xoxox

 _Lave Flight School, December 10th, '755_

The crowd gasped as the final moments of her flight test were replayed. She could see now where she had gone wrong. But of course - hindsight was 20-20.

In practice she had always had a tendency to over compensate when lining up with the docking port. She always thought her rotation was not enough. So this time she had under-estimated her spin. And she had done it in spectacular style.

Catching the edge of the docking tunnel she had ripped her craft in two. The first half had smashed in to the outer shell of the DoDo, starting a minor fire. That was only the beginning - because the second half had careened down the tunnel in to the docking bay, colliding with with an out-going freighter.

The resulting explosion started a chain reaction that tore through the rest of the station in a matter of seconds. She could barely watch as the fireball expanded to engulf a number of ships round the station.

She turned to face the panel that would decide if she was going to get her license. Or - she reflected - how badly she would be punished for her somewhat unorthodox ending.

"Eloise Jensen"

"Yes"

"You have failed to meet the criteria laid down to qualify for a class one license for free flight within The Confederation. Do you understand what this means?"

"Yes sir"

"While the majority of your test was acceptable, the destruction of a DoDo Station is severe enough to warrant an unusual clause. The panel has decided you may not apply for leave to try again until this time next year. You are expected to put this time to good use"

"Yes sir. I will"

xoxox

 _Edge of Lave Space, June 12th '757_

"Yes" she thought "I have improved". Remembering her second test, she smiled again.

xoxox

  
**The Signal**   


They had been flying for three hours when the craft on point picked up a signal. He relayed it to Alpha Leader who sent Eloise out to take a look.

"Unidentified craft this is the Navy Vessel Alpha Three, do you need any help?" When there was no answer she flicked on her defensive systems, then tried again "Unidentified craft, this is the Confederation Navy. Who are you?"

"Navy Vessel, this is the trading ship Keishi. I am, alas, marooned"

"How did you arrive here?"

"I was halfway to Lave in witch-space when the flight computer signalled the engines were failing. I pulled out of witch-space and was deposited here"

"What is your situation?"

"My thru-space drive is shot. If I hadn't pulled out when I did I would still be there. My jump drive is going too. If I push it too hard they will explode"

"So you are pretty much stuck?"

"Yes"

"One moment" She switched frequencies "Alpha Leader, this is Alpha Three"

"Go ahead Sammy"

"It is a trading ship. He says both his drive systems have packed in and he is stuck"

"Do you think he is on the level?"

"Yeah. From the scaring on the edges of the thrusters I would say his jump drive is damaged. As for the rest.. I would say he is on the level"

"So..."

"If we leave him here he will die"

"Okay. You go with him and escort him back to Lave. Then rejoin the Squad"

"What about the convoy?"

"You will not be gone long. And I am sure we can survive that long without you"

"Yes sir. I will be back as quick as I can" She flicked the frequencies over again "Trading Ship Keishi. I will escort you back to Lave. Fall in behind me so I can extend the tractor beam"

"Okay"

She watched the ship move round to the rear of her craft. Her hand hovered over the firing controls, but she didn't really think she would need them. When he was in place she engaged the tractor beam and gunned her engines.

Turning her ship she set off for the one planet in all the galaxies she had never wanted to see again.

xoxox

 _Lave Flight School, December 12th, '756_

"Trading ship, this is Lave Station. You are cleared for docking. Once inside proceed to green section, level eight, bay six"

Eloise frowned at the voice - docking officers should not be sarcastic. Okay - so she had destroyed the station the last time she did this, but that was a year ago, and she had been practising since then.

'Anyway' she thought 'They will see'. Out loud she said "Confirmed"

She guided the ship to the space in front of the docking port, lining up for the normal procedure. Then she gunned the engines and shot past the station, moving to a position just beyond the read of the station. She paused, programming the computer to fulfil the next part of the plan. She smiled again, then started counting down to herself.

"Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One...."

The ships engines fired and the craft started to pitch upwards. At the same time it began to roll. In less than a second the craft had matched rotation speed for the docking port. Holding her breath she watched as the port came in to view, then released it as the craft slid slid gently in to the tunnel. Guiding her ship down to the docking bay she shut down all the engines and sat back.

Despite the trouble she knew she was in she could not help smiling. It was not every day you got to do that, and she knew it would be remembered for a long time.

Opening the simulator she stepped out to the sound of applause. She could not remember the last time anyone had clapped during a flight test. She caught sight of her family and smiled again. Her sister was waving, while her father was attempting to frown but not doing a very good job of it. She waved back to her sister, then walked back towards the panel.

"Eloise Jensen"

"Yes sir"

"A year ago you stood before us having failed to get your class one licence. We advised you to put the time to good use. It is clear you have done just that. We are happy to grant you a class one licence for free flight in The Confederation"

"Thank you sir"

"There is one clause though"

"Sir?"

"Though your docking manoeuvre shows that you have gained the confidence you were sadly lacking in your last attempt, it would be unwise to attempt it again. If there is ever any record of you trying such a move anywhere in The Confederation you will never, ever, be permitted to fly so much as a kite in any of the eight galaxies from then on. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir. I promise this will be the last time"

"Then go. You are free to fly where you wish"

"Thank you sir". She turned back to the crowd and walked over to her family. Her sister came running towards her, and gave her a big hug. Then they walked back to her parents.

"Before you say it Dad - I know. It was reckless. And if I had missed I would have lost any hope of gaining my licence"

"Yes El. That is all true. But it was not what I was going to say"

"Oh?"

"I was going to say that is one of the best test flights I have ever seen"

"Really?"

"Really"

"What about the asteroid?" Her sister asked "I can't remember them doing that before"

"That is because we haven't" A voice came from behind them. Turning, Janie ran towards the older man who was approaching them.

"Uncle Mike!" She yelled as she ran in to him, throwing her arms around him.

"Hey honey - leave a few ribs intact" He bent down and kissed her on the top of the head. Taking her hand they walked back to the waiting group. "Hey sis. Tam" He nodded to the adults before turning to his older niece. "And you - my dear. You are the talk of the panel"

"What did you mean 'They haven't'?" Eloise asked.

"Since you were going so well before that, the panel decided to test your reactions to a totally unexpected - and impossible - situation. And since an asteroid would never get that close to a Faraway Point we thought it was the perfect idea"

"And if she had hit it?" Her mother asked.

"She wouldn't have. If I thought - sorry. If we thought there was any chance of that a mining ship would have flown past and blown it up in front of you"

"Cool!" Janie said.

"Just one more question Uncle" Eloise started "Since you were on the.. well.."

"What she is trying to ask is what part you played in the panel's decision" Her father said, noticing his daughters hesitancy.

"Oh - you think having an Uncle on the panel is the only reason you passed?" Mike asked, with a slight smile on his face.

"Well..." She had been wondering just that, but now it was out in the open it sounded silly. The last time the question had not even come up - she had destroyed a space station. But now.

"Would it help to know that I was the last to speak. And by the time I did I would not have made a difference. And to know that it was me that put the flight clause in?"

"It does. And I know it was a risk. But I have been practising that move for a long time now"

"You are one of the best pilots we have seen in a long time. It was a pleasure grant you the licence" He looked at her parents "You should be proud of your daughter Janette. She is most definitely a chip off the old block"

"Does that send your mind at rest honey?" Her father asked. She nodded, then turned to her mother. "May I?"

"Yes. I thought you had forgotten"

"Not for a minute. But I figured I should pass my test first. I would not want to be a danger to the public after all". She kissed them both goodbye then headed off towards the shuttle port. As she reached the exit she felt a tug on her arm, and turned to see her sister.

"Mom said I could come with you to the station, and watch you leave"

"Don't you want to come with me?" That was surprising. Janie was normally the first to jump at the chance of space flight, and with the recent attacks in the surrounding systems the chances had been lessening.

"Mom said I should respect the traditions" Her sister looked so downcast that Eloise could not resist hugging her.

"Don't worry. There is always the next time"

xoxox

Half an hour later they were stood at the docking bay where Eloise's ship was berthed. Kissing her sister on the cheek she went down to the ship. Climbing inside the cockpit she turned on the main power, then signalled the station.

"Lave SysCon, this is Cosette's Dream. May I have clearance to leave?"

"Cosette's Dream, this is SysCon. Fly to the main junction and hold pending departure of a priority shipment. Clearance will be granted in ten minutes"

"Thank you SysCon". She started the engines and flew out of the bay, eager to reach space.

Moments later she was out in space, heading for the Faraway Point.

'It is truly beautiful' she thought, as she started the jump sequence.

xoxox

 _Edge Of Lave Space, June 12th, '757_

As she thought back to the day she had passed her test, she could not stop the tears welling up in her eyes.

xoxox

 **  
Return Flight   
**

They had been flying for two hours in near silence when a voice came over the com-channel.

"So, Navy Ship Alpha Three - what's your name?"

"My name is Kayleigh Keaton" She replied, using one of the many cover names she had been given. "Who are you?"

"Name's Tony Taylor. I come from Lave originally, but trade spices all round the galaxy"

"You're from Lave?"

"Yeah. Aren't you?"

"Sorry"

"I could have sworn you were human"

"You are right about that part. My parents left Lave around twenty years ago, and settled on Vagnor. I was born there"

"Half right is better than none I guess"

"You are good" Too good she thought. She decided to change the subject "Have you been back since... since?"

"No. This will be my first time. I was on the other side of the galaxy when They came. I heard all about it on the news and I cried. I have never felt so helpless in all my life. And with the travel restrictions only just being lifted this is the first time I have had a chance to go back"

"Are things picking up?"

"A little. The Eagle is flying, which is helping. But it will take more than six months to get over what was done in those few hours"

"I know. And I am sorry"

"Hey - its not your fault. Its like either of us were there"

"I know. But I am still sorry" For once she was glad her ship did not have a vid-comm unit - the tears rolling down her cheeks would have been hard to explain.

xoxox

 _Diso Station, December 12th, '756_

"I can't believe I am finally here" She thought as she looked around. The bar in Diso Station was quite a sight to behold. She had arrived half an hour earlier and, as was traditional, was having a drink celebrate her first flight. She had always wondered where these traditions had come from. By tradition the first flight of a pilot was always a solo one. Because of this the pilot always ended up drinking alone.

"Still" She thought "It is nice to be here" Off world travel on Lave had decreased since the war had increased in intensity, and very few aliens had passed through her home town. To be suddenly thrust in to a position where she was surrounded by a whole host of alien races was surprising to say the least.

As she looked around at the various races ranging from the feline Disoens, to the insectoid Oresrians, and of course the odd human, she thought back to the lessons she was taught as a kid.

The fact that every single class that was taught in schools all across the galaxy had a thread of tolerance woven in to it was probably a good thing even though at the time it seamed like pointless preaching. If someone went in to space with even a touch of xenophobia then the results could be very bad - the last of the so called 'Race Wars' had cost more than a hundred lives and left many many more in ruins. Possibly the only good thing to come out of the Thargoid Wars was that - now everyone had a common enemy to fight - there was little point in fighting each other.

She realized she had been staring in to space for far too long, and was attracting the odd stare from other customers. Turning her head she looked at the TV screen over the bar. At first she could not make sense of the images - a jumble of octal ships and stars. Then it all came together in a burst of startling and horrible clarity - it was her home. She asked the bartender to turn up the volume.

"....unclear. All we know is that Lave is under attack. How strong the attack is is unclear, but there at least seven ships attacking the planet. No bombardment has been reported, but we should stress details are sketchy. The planetary defence force has responded and the Navy is on route. However at this time things look grim for the home of humanity...."

Eloise realized she had tuned out halfway through the report. Nothing mattered any more except getting back to her ship and going home.

xoxox

As she arrived at the docking bay she realized she was not the only person going to Lave. It looked like every ship in the station was leaving at once. She had to wait ten minutes to get clearance, and as she flew out of the tunnel she gasped as she saw wave after wave of ship jumping in to witch-space. Seconds later she engaged her engines and launched herself in to the abyss, never expecting to return.

xoxox

 _Edge of Lave Space, June 12th, '757_

"Kayleigh?"

"Yeah?"

"We are here"

xoxox

 **  
The Bridge Of Tears   
**

There it was. The planet she had called home for seventeen years. The planet where she had lost everything that had ever mattered. The day where she had been reborn. It still looked pretty as it had that day - six months before - when she had flown in to a vision of hell.

xoxox

 _Lave Space, December 12th, '757_

She had never seen so many wrecked ships in one place. As she emerged from witch-space she nearly flew headlong in to a wall of drifting and damaged ships. It was only the compression wave that witch-space jumps produced that was clearing the arrival point. As she weaved her way through the wrecks she reached under the main panel of her cockpit and flicked a single switch her father had installed.

She could remember his words as he explained the modifications he had made to 'The Dream'. She had learned about them the night before her second test - only two days ago she thought - when her father had taken her up to the station. The week before Quinzone had been attacked, and tensions were running high.

"Eloise - I know you share your mother's views on violence. Lord knows I do too. But there are people who don't. You know about the invasion last week, and the slaughter at Panetra, as well as pirates and mercs. I also know you are very good in the simulator. So I need to show you something"

He flicked a switch below the main panel and she gasped as the readouts changed. From a simple craft with a single pulse laser and fuel scoop the ship transformed in to a veritable battle-wagon with a full compliment of high level beam lasers, twin missile launchers front and back, an ECM system and what appeared to be an enhanced inertial damping system. She looked at her father, the shock still registering on her face. He smiled back.

"I know you know how to use this stuff. Just promise me one thing"

"What?"

"Don't ever misuse it"

"Sorry?"

"With all this power at your fingertips it is easy to feel invincible. And from there it is but a short hop to god-hood. The feeling that you have the right to choose who lives, and who dies. Remember the lessons your mother taught you - never fire the first shot, and never kill if you have a choice. Don't fire shots in anger, but if you do get angry then control it - make it your slave, not the other way round"

"I promise"

xoxox

Her father's words came back to her as she engaged her weapons. She was angry alright. They had dared to attack her home, and they would pay dearly by the time she was done. She tried to engage the jump-drive engines, but nothing happened.

"Must be all the wrecks spewing radiation" She thought. Then she spotted a dog-fight out of the corner of her eye. A python class freighter was being dogged by a Thargoid ship. There was no way the slower craft was going to escape the octal ship. If she was ever going to help - it would have to be now.

Firing her engines she sped towards the battle. She had no idea what she was going to do, hell - this was her first battle and it was against the greatest enemies the galaxies had ever known. The police, the Navy - they could not do anything. What would one lone fighter do?

As she got in to range of the ships weapons she freighter she would have to come up with something soon.

She flew her ship in to the line of fire, disrupting the Thargoid's attack. Turning slightly she fired back, trying to make the attacker mad. Watching her rear screen she saw the python flying off - approaching the Faraway Point. Once it was out of range she span the ship and ran for the far side of the planet.

As she hoped the Thargoid followed her, though part of her mind was shocked at the thought that being pursued by a Thargoid was a good thing. The happy thought was brought to an abrupt end as her console started beeping at her. It was the proximity alarm. In about two minutes she would have twice the firepower trained on her ship as another octal ship came towards her. The shields had stood up well under one barrage - but two? She would have to think fast.

Turning to watch the craft behind her she realised she was pulling slightly out of range of the lasers it fired. "Because it is weaving to follow me" She thought "They are fast in a straight line but they handle like a car in mud"

Without stopping to think she pulled back on the joystick, sending her craft straight up. Even with the E-IDS she could feel the g-force pulling at her. But none of that mattered as she watched the readouts on her console. As she had hoped the ship behind her attempted to do the same thing, but the arc it was following was so much wider it took it in to the path of the on-coming ship.

From reports she heard later it was said the explosion and fireball could be seen from the planet below. For a few seconds she basked in the sheer brilliance of the light. Then a signal came through her speakers - the DoDo was broadcasting a general distress call.

Despite the fact her ship would never stand another pounding she knew she didn't have a choice - she had to answer the call. But before she got ten meters there was another explosion to rival the brightness of Lave's sun. There was only one thing that could produce that sort of light in the System. She checked her sensors to confirm what she already knew - the DoDo was gone.

xoxox

 _Lave Space, June 12th, '757_

She watched as the trader made his way to The Eagle. The old station style had been decommissioned a long time before - way before Lave had been colonized. The main advantage they had over the DoDo style was that they were very easy to construct, and with the spate of attacks in recent years they had been used more and more as short term measures. But from the devastation left by the attack, Eloise thought that 'short term' was optimistic at best.

xoxox

 **  
The Secret   
**

_Lave Space, December 12th, '756_

It was a few minutes before she realized something was different. It was a minute after that she realized what it was.

It was the silence.

Ever since she had jumped back in to normal space, her panel had been beeping like crazy with signals coming in from ships all across all the system. Now it was all quiet. She switched on her scanners and did a once over of the surrounding space.

They were gone. All of the attacking ships had vanished.

Turning her ship back to the planet she looked out of the front screen and saw a terrible sight. The whole area was awash with wrecked ships and bits of the station. It was inconceivable that anyone could be alive in the graveyard before her, but the odd beep from her com-system indicated that there were, at least for now, some survivors.

However that was not what concerned her. When she had left the station an hour before her sister had been on it, and her parents would have had to pick her up. Even if by some miracle her family had not been on the station when it exploded she did not think they would have survived the bombing. But she had to be sure.

She flew back to the planet, flicking the second switch under the console - another of her fathers 'upgrades'.

Most space ships flew under the time honoured system of Newtons Second Law. The engines squirted out ionized gas in one direction, and the ship moved in the other. The only disadvantage of this system was that if the ship got too close to a gravity well - such as a planet - it had to produce so much energy to counteract the gravity that the fuel was burned out in seconds. Because of this - and the easy availability of station-planet shuttles - very few ships were equipped to fly in a planets atmosphere. When her father told her that 'Cosette's Dream' was one of them, she was astounded.

Now as she descended in to the ruins of what had once been her home town, she was grateful beyond words.

Skimming through the lower atmosphere she headed towards the Capital City. Her family lived on the outskirts, and if there were going to be any survivors they would most likely gather there.

As she passed over the edges of the Capital her hopes of finding any survivors faded. The Thargoids had been very thorough in the job they did. In the past - in the first age of Humanity - huge fleets of aircraft had been required to lay waste to even the smallest cities. She had read about the bombing of a city called Dresden in one of the many wars her ancestors had had. It had taken an inordinate amount of planes, and the city was less than half the size of the Capital. Yet now a whole planet had been virtually flattened by ten ships. It was a heart breaking site.

Setting her ship down in what had been Centennial Park she set off to the largest structure still standing - the Flight Test Centre. Following the 'Alexander' incident some twenty years before the building had been radically restructured to increase its stability and foundations. After it had been completed the designers had boasted it would be able to withstand anything. She wondered if they were still around to see their boasts come true.

She slipped in to the building through a side door. Her uncle had once taken his two nieces around the centre, showing them all of the parts the public did not generally get to see. When they had reached the final corridor he had stopped and turned to them.

 _"This is the most restricted part of the complex. Not that there is a lot here that is secret - only a corridor that runs out to the street. But as you will have noticed the two guards at that end" He pointed to where they had come from "And down there" He pointed to the door "Tend to restrict the number of people who come here"_

 _"Its a bolt hole" Eloise said with a smile._

 _"Well - we don't tend to call it that but you are right" Smiling at Janie's obvious confusion he continued "If the candidate looks like they will be unhappy with the decision the panel can always leave the building in secret"_

Now she was using the same way her uncle had once used to creep out of the building to get in. No guards were on duty - which wasn't a surprise, so she walked as quickly as she could in to the main hall and stopped short. Even with all she had seen in space the sight before her was truly horrifying.

There were bodies everywhere. Some had blankets, jackets - even curtains - draped over their faces. Others were alive but clearly in pain. There were people flitting about between them doing the best they could even though the scope of the task was obviously beyond them. Her eyes searched the room until she saw a familiar face. Crossing the floor to him, her heart sank.

"Uncle Mike?"

"Eloise. I thought..."

"I came back from Diso when I heard. How are you?"

"Oh - you know"

"Has a doctor..." She looked around to call someone over, but stopped when she felt his hand on her arm.

"Yeah. He has"

"Mike..." She was not a doctor, and had very little medical knowledge. But it was clear he was dying.

"The doctor said he could try to help me, but even then he could only give me a twenty percent chance. And while he was trying to save me..."

"Others could die" She finished for him.

"I figure I have had a good life. Let someone else have a go"

"Sorry"

"Hey - its not your fault"

"I know. But I am still sorry. Sorry for you. Sorry for the dead and wounded in here" She paused to wipe her tears away "Sorry for the whole damn planet"

"You haven't heard about your parents then?"

"No. Janie either"

"I am sure you will soon"

"So am I. That's what worries me" She looked down at the floor, trying to stop the tears. When she felt his hand on her shoulder she looked back "Don't worry about me. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"As a matter of fact - there is. You can tell me something"

"What?"

"A year ago you stood before me having taken a test and failed. Today you passed. But up until the docking sequence the tests were the same. If anything the first one was a lot, lot better than the second"

"So?"

"I have seen your practice. I have seen you handle day to day life. I have seen you do things in the simulator that even a Navy Cadet would think twice about. But never once have I seen you nervous, and never once have I seen you make a mistake"

"Uncle Mike - what do you want to know?" She asked, although she had a feeling she already knew.

"You did it on purpose didn't you?" When she didn't answer he looked up "You crashed in to the station on purpose. I don't know why - I don't want to know why. But just tell me the truth and I will die happy" She looked down at her uncle, then leaned down and whispered a single word in his ear. As she straightened up she saw him close his eyes and smile. A moment later he was gone. She kissed him on the cheek, then took off her jacket and laid it over his face.

Standing up she wiped the tears from her eyes and left the hall with a determined stride. She had work to do - she had to find her family before it was too late.

xoxox

 **  
The Choice   
**

_Deep Space, June 12th, '757_

She made the witch-space jump back to where she thought the convoy would be. Despite her sentimental attachment she had to her home, she did not want to stay for too long. It was not her favourite place any more, and - fearing the trader had been a decoy - she was worried about the convoy. Her fears seams to be confirmed as she returned to normal space. All of her panels indicated that Alpha Squadron was under attack, and in danger of being destroyed. Charging her weapons she flew towards the battle sight.

xoxox

Half an hour later it was all over. The raiders that had attacked the group had been good, but she had already been classed a legend in the galactic Navy. Finding solid resistance had rattled the raiders, causing them to turn and flee. She had been tempted to go after them, but there was still the rest of the Squadron to think about. As she checked in with Alpha Leader she realized it could have been worse. No one was dead, and most of the ships were still operable. Alpha Leader's ship had been 'downed' but the team leader was alive on the carrier. Most importantly the carrier ship was intact and the Thargon in the hold was ready for safe delivery to Starbase 101 for the examination.

While the rest of the Squadron stayed on at the base for a little R&R, Eloise had to fly back to Zaonce at once. She told the Squadron it was a personal matter, not wanting to break her cover as a normal Navy pilot. If she had told them the truth then further operations of the same nature would be in jeopardy. Besides which she still had a nagging feeling about the trader, but she didn't want to take it up with the group - since one of them might be involved too.

xoxox

 _Zaonce DoDo Station, June 13th, '757_

"Is that all?" Mr Fenn put down the pad he had been writing on and looked at his newest agent.

"Yes sir. Except..." Eloise paused, trying to think of the best way to phrase her concerns.

"Except what?"

"There is no record of a Tony Taylor docking at the Lave Station. I checked all the databases and came up empty"

"So?"

"I saw his ship fly down the tunnel. And since there is no record of him being there..."

"You think he was up to no good"

"Yes sir. Either he was a pirate on the run, or he was one of the raiders sent to decoy the convoy"

"How would they know it would work?"

"Come on sir - the preservation of life orders are hardly top secret. If he was involved then he must have known the Navy would not leave a pilot stranded"

"True. Can you think of any other reason he is out there?"

"He could have been telling the truth. Engines do go down sometimes, and being stranded in real space is far better than being stranded in witch-space"

"As a matter of fact - he was telling the truth"

"Sir?"

"The trader you rescued was another Society Agent. He was on his way to Diso when his engines packed in. I got his report just before you arrived. He sends his thanks by the way"

"So I wasn't played for a fool then?"

"No. In fact Alpha Leader credits you with saving the mission and her life. Along with Mr Taylor, I would say you had a good days work"

"Thank you sir"

"You may go. You have done a very good job for your first time out, and you deserve a break. The New Council is due for investiture in August, so consider yourself on leave until then"

"Yes sir. And thank you"

xoxox

As she left his office and returned to her ship she thought about the Invasion, and her life since. She had come a long way since Mr Fenn had first approached her in the midst of the ruins of her home town.

xoxox

 _Lave Centennial Park, December 12th, '756_

"Miss Jensen?"

"Yes?" She had been returning to 'The Dream' when a group of people had approached her.

"My name is Joseph Fenn. I was wondering if I might speak with you?"

"Not now. I..."

"I know. You wish to find your family"

"Really? How do you know?"

"I have contacts at the Flight Records Office"

"So...?"

"I am sorry to tell you that your sister was on an Evac shuttle that was shot down on its way to the planet"

"And my parents?"

"Their ship was destroyed in the battle. You have my sympathies"

"Thank you" She turned back to her ship when she heard his voice again.

"If I may - I would like to discuss something with you"

"This really isn't a good time Mr.. Fenn was it? I have just found out that everything I ever loved is dead. I would like some time alone"

"That is why this is the best time for us to talk"

xoxox

 _Zaonce DoDo Station, June 13th, '757_

He was right of course, she thought. Mr Fenn had taken her aboard her ship and told her about "The Society". It was a government agency that worked covertly to protect the security of The Confederation. He explained that he would like her to join, and since she was now alone in the universe it would be easy to create a new life for her. She had accepted his offer at once, wanting to start a fresh life for herself far away from the mess the Thargoids had left.

xoxox

Six months later her wish was granted. Her training was completed, and she was ready to work. Altering the records was simple. Mr Fenn had had Eloise Jensen declared dead - killed in the battle over her home world. At the same time Samantha Jane Wrae was registered born on Vagnor seventeen years previously, to human parents. Her ship had been redesigned and re-christened so it no longer resembled the ship that had fought so well during the Invasion of Lave.

xoxox

As she entered the cockpit of the ship once known as 'Cosette's Dream' she reflected on the changes in her life. Her first mission was over. No one was dead, and the objectives had been met. On the whole it was a success.

"Control, this is the trading ship White Rose asking for clearance to depart"

"White Rose, this is Zaonce SysCon. Clearance granted. Proceed down the main bay then depart"

xoxox

As she hit space she said a final goodbye to her past. Her life had ended on Lave, but now for the first time she could see a future.

And it looked good.


	3. Perspectives

"She is a good pilot"

"Like her mother before her. But she is inquisitive. If we can convince her she might be worthy allay"

"From the rumours I hear she is Fenn's pet. It might be dangerous to approach her"

"But to have a person inside The Society..."

"Yes. I know. It is a chance we have been waiting for. However we must not rush it. The whole future of The Wheel, maybe The Confed could depend on it"

"So do you want me to..."

"No"

"Sir?"

"Keep watch. For the moment do nothing. Any moves now would be premature"

"As you wish"

xoxox

 ** Family Matters **

Of all the assignments she was expecting, this was not top of the list. She was one of the top flight pilots in the galaxy and with all the troubles recently she thought her talents would be put to better use.

"A baby sitting job?"

"A what?" Mr Fenn looked at her with the same cool eyes he always had.

"You are assigning one of your best pilots to watch a bunch of kids?"

"It is not my doing Miss Wrae. Council Member Daunal was impressed by your actions during the Installation Ceremonies that he went to the Navy Chief himself to ask if you could be the one to bring his family from Trieste to Zaonce. Thargoid activity aside some of the worlds are not so sure about the New Council. Times are changing Sammy - there are a few people who would use Daunal's family against him. That is why I agreed. Daunal could be a powerful allay in the future"

"I don't have a choice about this do I?" She looked up hopefully.

"No. You will pick up the Navy ship tomorrow and depart for Trieste. You will be flying a modified Cobra - your speciality I am told"

"Why? Oh - don't tell me. The less obvious the better"

"Yes"

"What route should I take?"

"Trieste to Vagnor. Vagnor to Lave. Lave to Zaonce"

"Must I?"

"I know it is painful, but it is the shortest route"

"I understand. How many are there in the group?"

"Four. His wife, two daughters and a son. The Cobra has been refitted to remove all cargo bays. Instead there is enough room for three bedroom apartments and four seats on the flight deck"

"Are we to stop anywhere?"

"It is at your discretion. The police are expecting you, so you should have no problems"

"Then I will most likely want to stop over at Lave" She saw almost a flicker of surprise on his face, but she could not be sure it was real "I know - I did not want to go there at first. However it is still my home, even if I can't acknowledge it"

"I understand. Sometimes I long to return to my home, but this is the life we have chosen".

"If that will be all?" She stood up to leave when he spoke up again.

"There is one more thing. I realise you were recruited mostly for flight duties -- and this mission will be mostly flying. However...."

"What?"

"I know you have a reluctance to carry guns"

"Yes" Her mouth hardened.

"While on the respective stations there will be an invisible police presence. But mostly the burden of protection will fall on you"

"There is no hope of getting another agent to cover is there?"

"The craft will be cramped enough as it is"

"I guessed as much. And you are going to insist I am armed aren't you?"

"From your academy scores, and your weekly results I would say you are a crack shot. I do not anticipate any problems, and I hope there won't be. But I am afraid that whilst you are on duty you will have to carry a firearm for defence purposes" He looked across the desk at her "And I do expect you to use it should the need arise. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir. We are all called on to make sacrifices"

"That we are Sammy. You are dismissed"

Eloise stood up and left the office, thinking about the last time she had held a gun. Not one of the training guns at the academy, nor the ones at the Society base. The last time she had held a real gun was two weeks after she turned fourteen.

xoxox

Her mother was a committed pacifist. She never raised her hand against anyone, and had wanted nothing to do with her teaching. Her father was not really an aggressive person, but he believed everyone should know how to defend themselves. So he had taken her to a local club to learn how to shoot. She had taken the gun in her hand and pointed at the target. A moment later she had fired off five shots, all of which had hit dead centre.

Her father had looked at her in surprise, then reloaded the gun. Starting the targets moving he asked her to fire again, and was equally surprised when, almost casually, his daughter hit the bullseye of all five targets. The same sequence was repeated three times with the targets moving faster each time. And each time Eloise hit each target in the centre.

"Do you want to try the external range?"

She looked up at him, then at the targets. It would be more of a challenge, so she looked at her father and said "Sure"

They went out to the target range on the outside of the club. The first part was a distance range, and the other a reaction range. Knowing she could walk through the distance challenge she opted instead to try the reaction one first.

She was given a gun with six rounds in it and started walking down the street on the range. As she turned at the sound of a noise she came face to face with the first target. She looked at the hologram of the man, then at the gun in her hand, and for the first time realised - really realised - what she was holding. It was designed to kill people - nothing more, nothing less. She dropped it on the ground and went back to her father.

"I'm sorry Dad". He looked at her, and noticed she looked more like Janette than ever.

"It's okay sweeite. You had to make your own mind up"

"Targets are one thing. Shooting a living person is another" She looked at the 'targets' again. "That could be someone's friend. Someone's father. How could I kill it?"

xoxox

Since then she had not picked up a gun outside of her training. Even in her space exploits she had only once fired shots in anger. It did cause her regret that her first experience in space had ended in a battle over her home. After purposely destroying the Thargoid Ships over Lave she had only fired in defence of her ship and her team. She had not liked it, but she had not fired first - and only returned as much as she had been given. Now she was being forced in to a situation where she would be carrying a gun, and might have to fire first. She was dreading the first stop-over on Vagnor.

xoxox

She went down to the docking bay to look over her ship. Mr Fenn was right - it would not be the most spacious ride she would go on, but the craft looked like it would be fairly easy to handle in flight. She sealed the hatch again, then went back to her own ship. It was the best place to sleep as she could keep in touch pretty easily. It was also the only place she felt really safe.

xoxox

"I have the flight plan"

"Good. Now we can rid of that meddling son of a bitch once and for all. Pity about the pilot, but one life for the good of the Council and The Confed is a small price to pay"

xoxox

 ** Infinity Never Looked So Lovely **

"Trieste Station, this is the Navy Ship Tripoli One asking permission to dock"

"Tripoli One, this is Trieste Station. Permission is granted. Once inside the bay proceed to level eight, berth twenty"

"Thank you Trieste Station" She gently guided the ship into the tunnel and down to the bay. She shut the ship down and started to leave when she remembered Fenn's instructions. Turning back to her control panel she opened up the secure locker and pulled out the gun. Checking it was loaded she strapped on the holster and left the ship.

xoxox

She was met by a man in Navy uniform - a private - and taken to the habitat level. He showed her in to the outer part of the quarters and she sat down. It wasn't until he went to get the Daunal family that she realised she had taken the only seat in the room from which she could see all the doors.

"Hello miss....miss what?" A lady asked her. She looked mid forties, and was followed by three children.

"Samantha Wrae, but everybody calls me Sammy"

"Sammy then. My name is Juanella Daunal, and these are my children Sophia, Tom and Jane. I undertand you are to be our pilot"

"Yes ma'm" She started, but was cut off as Mrs Daunal gave a short laugh.

"Oh dear no" She continued, smiling indulgently "I am not enlisted. call me Juanella, or Ella if you prefer"

"Yes.... Ella" Eloise looked at her, and saw no anger, so she carried on "My boss has asked me to take you and your family to Zaonce to live with your husband"

"Mr Xxanxar? He must have improved his view of my husband if he actually assigned us an escort. He was a vocal opponent of him while he was on the Trieste Council"

"Maybe being a Council Member has its perks" She said, looking round the room.

"That it does" Ella smiled back "If only we did not have to move. Still - a public life is never easy. You must know that Sammy"

"Do I ever!" She thought of her own life - solitary, living on the White Rose, never knowing what would come next. "Anyway - I do not wish to sound impertinent, but there are a few things I must insist on before we leave"

"Do you want the kids to leave?"

"No if they don't want to. They should hear some of this too" She ran through a list of things in her head, then started "Firstly I am - in public at least - the kids nanny, not a Navy Pilot. They can call me Sammy. It will keep things more low-key. Second - if I ask you to do something with the words 'You Lot' you must to it at once. Whatever I say will sound rude, but it will get your attention. And finally try to stay in a group, to lessen suspicion. I will be the only one in with you and there is a limit to how many places I can be in at once" She looked at them, trying to gauge the silence. It appeared she had shocked them.

"Wow!" The youngest daughter said. Eloise turned to look at her. She was about 14 years old, and looked a lot like an older version of Eloise's younger sister.

"My dear" Ella said "Mr Xxanxar should hire more pilots like you. The last two security staff we have had were too scared of us, and my husband, to do anything. You are the first in a long line of agents who has actually appeared to put any thoughts in to it"

"Well - it my job to get you safely to Zaonce, and you have no idea what the paperwork will be like if I misplace any of you" That provoked the laugh she had been hoping for, and she smiled back at them "OK - so when do you want to leave?"

"My husband is expecting us in a week. If it is not too much trouble I had hoped to leave tomorrow, spend two days on Vagnor and two on Lave. I have friends I have not seen in a while"

"I think I can arrange that. Will the children be visiting with you?"

"Maybe - we can work out the details later"

"Very well. Although I asked you to stay together I see that might be hard. But if you decide to split up I would prefer to stay with the children. That way we can fade in to the background - something you would not be able to do as well"

"Sounds like a good idea. So - we leave tomorrow. At about 9am?"

"Yes. That sounds fine. I will sleep here tonight, and a local guard can watch the door"

xoxox

The following morning they went down to the loading bay. She showed them their sleeping quarters, telling them the rest of their stuff would be sent on by freighter. The kids stowed their stuff then came forward to the flight deck. Eloise was going through the pre-flight checks. She patiently answered all the questions they asked about what she was doing until their mother told them to hush up and let her work. Eloise flashed her a thankful smile, then turned back to the panel to complete the checks. She signalled the station that she was ready to depart, then turned to her passengers.

"If you could put your belts on please, we are about to depart" She turned back and started the launch procedure. Seconds later they were flying down the tunnel and out in to space. She flipped the craft around and headed towards the Faraway Point.

"So how do you like it so far Jane?" She asked the younger daughter. Her mother had mentioned that Jane had not been in space before. The Thargoid attacks had made a number of parents nervous, and the daughter of a Council Member was subject of extra security.

"Its amazing Sammy. I have never seen anything so lovely"

"I know. It is the part I love most of flying. Except for this...." She looked around then engaged the jump engines.

Smiling at the gasps of admiration and delight at the light show she watched as the counter on the panel counted down to zero. The pseudo light flickered out as they returned to normal space. Ahead was the planet Vagnor. It was a reasonably safe place to be - the planetary government did not exactly smile on piracy but they didn't frown on it either. She would have to keep an eye out on the inbound and outbound journeys, but it should not be much of a problem. If anyone was going to attack then witchspace - or Lave - would be the most likely place for a fight.

Engaging the jump-drive system they sped towards the station, Eloise suddenly felt anxious to dock. Indicating to Jane to sit in the co-pilots seat she pulled the ship in to the so-called "safe zone" around the DoDo. She lined up the craft to dock, then turned to the girl.

"You want to signal them?"

"Really?"

"Yeah. This is the Navy Ship Tripoli"

"Okay" Jane flicked on the Com switch "Vagnor Station, this is the Navy Ship Tripoli requesting permission to dock"

"This is Vagnor Station. You are granted permission to dock. Once inside the bay go to level four, berth eight"

Jane turned to Eloise and smiled. Eloise smiled back and whispered "Acknowledge him"

"Oh yeah. Sorry" She flicked the switch back on again "Vagnor Station, this is the Tripoli. Thank you" She turned back to Eloise who continued.

"You should always acknowledge everything you are told. That way there is no confusion about what is going on"

"Is that like a law?" Sophia asked.

"Not as such, but you are taught it during flight class, and everybody I have met respects the tradition. Just think of it as an unwritten rule" She turned back to the front and began the docking procedure. Fighting the urge to panic she guided the ship in to the tunnel and down to the assigned berth. Shutting the ship down she turned to the family again.

"So what would you like to do now?"

"First we should go to our quarters, then I have to go down to the planet" Ella said "The children are free to do as they please"

"Can we go to the flight area?" asked Jane "I want to practice some more" Eloise looked at the other two kids.

"Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah. Tom and I both like flying. Could you take us out in to space tomorrow?" Sophia asked.

"We shall see" Interrupted their mother before Eloise could say anything in reply. They went down to the quarters they had been assigned to, then Eloise went to report in with the local office. She set up various protection duties for the coming two days, then returned to the living quarters. She told Ella that the escort would be arriving in around five minutes, then she went to talk to the children.

"Okay. The police officer is is coming down in a few minutes. He is going to be with your mother for the rest of the day. And I will be with you. We can do whatever you want with one or two exceptions. We can't go in to space until your mother agrees, and for much the same reason we can't go planetside. The space station will have to serve us for today. So - what would you like to do?"

"Well..." Sophia started "I would like to see the local shopping areas"

"And I would like to go to the flight area" Jane spoke up.

"Tom?" Eloise asked.

"I am not bothered really. I will go with the crowd"

"Okay. If we have something to eat, we can do some shopping. The flight area won't be open just yet anyway. So - shall we go?"

xoxox

 ** Eyes From The Past **

Later that day as they were talking to the flight area Eloise asked Jane what was wrong with Tom.

"He was meant to be playing for the school team, but with us moving he lost the chance. But he will get over it - don't worry about him"

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Dad's work moves us about a lot, and he has gotten used to it"

"Pity. I wasn't a Navy Brat but I know some kids who got moved around a lot. It lead me to decide I would not have kids when I picked this life" She felt bad talking about this. Lying to such a sweet kid was not her nature, but she had a personality to maintain.

"I know. I had a lot of friends whose parents were in the service. It is frightening to think how many people I have met in the last three years"

They walked on a little till they reached the flight area. Looking over the layout Eloise noted there was only one entrance to the place, which would help a lot. She let the kids in, each of them sitting in a simulator at once, then moved to stand by the door. She watched as each of them started up the programs.

Tom was trying a flight test - he would be due to take his test pretty soon from all accounts. Jane was on combat mode, and Sophia was just on a general flight game. She wasn't really interested in this at all, but had agreed to go along with them since they would be going shopping later.

Eloise kept on eye on the passers by and the others on the screens. Sophia was clearly not putting her heart in to it. Tom was, but he was not really getting anywhere. He would have to improve if he was going to pass his test.

But Jane - Jane was totally different. She was wheeling, spinning and diving the ship like a girl possessed. There were countless ships on the screen - both Pirates and the police Viper ships - yet she was only hitting the pirate ships. Every time a Viper ship came in to her range she suspended fire just enough to let it pass unharmed, then resumed firing at her previous target.

Before long her screen had attracted the attention of the other people in the simulator room, and the rest of the simulators were going quiet as everyone turned to watch her. However Jane paid no heed to the attention she was getting, only to the screen in front of her.

The number of the ships increased, and then - with a slight gasp - Eloise saw an octal Thargoid ship appear.

The arcade mode Jane was the most used of the modes - it started at a basic level with only one or two pirate ships. Then, as it got harder, more and more pirates were brought in, as well as the Vipers of the police. By the simulated level of Competent the Asps of the Galactic Navy started to show up. The last time Eloise had played the game she had reached the Dangerous level, but could not remember Thargoids being part of the program.

She had a suspicion that if she tried now she could run rings round the simulator, and that was exactly what Jane was doing now. She seemed unstoppable, but Eloise noticed the girls reactions were not as quick as they had been at lower levels. It was getting harder than Jane could cope with, and suddenly Eloise saw what was going to happen in the next few seconds. On the right of the screen a Viper was blasting away at one of the Thargoid ships. In less than half a minute it would explode and the resulting debris would spiral left - right where Jane would have to be to avoid the Cobra on her tail.

Eloise almost called out, but then decided to stay silent. Seconds later everything unfold as she had predicted, and the screen exploded in white light with the words 'GAME OVER' in the centre. When the light faded, the words "Congratulations. You are now classed as E.L.I.T.E" appeared on the screen.

Unable to contain themselves the watching crowd burst in to applause. Jane smiled brightly and turned to Eloise, who smiled back, Then she noticed something at the edge of the crowd. One of the people watching Jane looked familiar - and though she could not place him the fact her hand tightened on the butt of her gun made her realise it would not be a happy reunion. Her mind was drawn away as the kids came over to her.

"Where did you learn to do that?" She asked Jane as they walked towards the shops.

"Just picked it up I guess" She shrugged it off and turned to her sister "So - what do you plan to buy? Something for 'The Collection'?"

"I hope so. It depends what they have here I guess" As the older girl started to look in various windows Eloise looked questioningly at Jane.

"She collects 'local items'" Jane explained "She has a great many things from all around Trieste. Dad's work took him around a lot, and he always brought something back"

"What sort of things?" Eloise asked. She had collected stuff as a kid, and had nearly completed the set of histories about Lave and Humanity when the Thargoids had come. Since then she had not had the time or the inclination to start another one. And what with being legally dead she could hardly go back to claim her stuff, even if it had survived the bombing.

"Mostly pictograms of the world. Every world has its treasures, she says, and they are all unique. She has a huge collection, although most of it has been shipped to Zaonce" She looked over at her sister, who was gazing in to a shop window "Maybe you can see it when we get there"

"That would be nice" She looked around and realised her charges were beginning to wander. She took Jane's hand and walked over to the shop "You ready to go?"

"Just a sec. They have a picture of the Concert Hall"

"The what?"

"The Concert Hall in Gavno. It is one of the most famous in the galaxies. Not because of who plays there, though it does attract the best of the best, but because of the design. It's maybe the most intricate and beautiful buildings in the Confederation. I have to get a picture of it"

"Ok - but don't be too long. Your mother will be expecting us"

"Two seconds - I swear"

Sophia went in to the shop, and moments later came out with a little box. Taking both their hands Eloise walked over to where Tom was looking at a terminal showing a news broadcast about a battle between the police and a group of pirates. Looking at him watching the pictures Eloise noticed the first signs of interest in his eyes. 'Maybe that is what he needs' She thought 'Something to match his fathers career'. She resolved to have a word with the police chief to see if anything could be done.

xoxox

The next day passed without incident, and they departed the station on schedule. Flying to the Faraway Point Eloise kept a watch out for familiar ships, but saw none. She knew there were other Society Agents watching her, backing her up, but so far they had been invisible. She shook her head to clear her thoughts, then engaged the Jump Engines.

xoxox

"What?"

"There was another detail"

"How many?"

"I don't know. All I saw was an observer in the flight area. He was watching the girl run rings around the machine"

"She was that good?"

"Jane Daunal has great potential. None of our pilots could match her if she increases in skill as she gets older"

"So where did the other agent go?"

"He left the station this morning, and from all appearances he is following them to Lave"

"Very well. Keep in touch" Mr Fenn smiled as he broke the connection. Having to sets of agents kept everybody on their toes. It was best not to let them get too complacent.

xoxox

 ** The Eagle **

Again it lay before her - her home for sixteen years. She could not help smiling as she brought the ship out of witchspace. Barely a year since the attack and already Lave was approaching a normal life. True - the DoDo was still to be rebuilt - a temporary station was in its place at the moment, but the situation on the planet was a lot better.

Most of the rubble left by the bombardment had been cleared away, and a good deal of reconstruction had begun. At the start there had been plans to rebuild the Centennial Dome, but the prevailing mood indicated there were more urgent matters to deal with than civic pride. In its place there now stood a grand medical complex, which had been the first building completed, and would be a lot more useful then the Dome ever would have been.

All across the planet new cities were springing up, and the population was once again becoming a trading force in the galaxy

xoxox

"Wow! Is that an Eagle?" Jane asked from the back of the flight desk.

"It is" Eloise replied.

"You don't see many of them about now, do you?"

"No - this is the first I have seen. They are only used during the construction of a new DoDo, or after a planetary emergency"

"How come this is the first?" Sophia asked "Weren't they used after Zaonce and Panetra?"

"How old do you think I am ?" Eloise asked with a smile. Before they could reply she continued "Zaonce was attacked before I was born, and my parents declined to travel off world until after the DoDo was rebuilt. And, sadly, the devastation of Panetra was so severe that the planet was abandoned. All you will find there is an asteroid field" She said a silent prayer for everyone who had died that day.

She hadn't known any personally, but with the strong trading links between Panetra and Lave her parents had lost a lot of good friends in the Invasion. If it was not for her mothers pacifist beliefs her parents might have gone to fight too.

Though it was selfish of her, Eloise was - for once - glad her mother was not a fighter. The same beliefs that had caused her daughters to be teased in school had prevented her and her husband from flying in to one of the most vicious slaughters in the history of the eight galaxies.

All five hundred million people on the planet had died, and in the battle in the space above an estimated two thousand ships had been lost - the whole defence force and nearly every ship that had gone to their aid. Aside from the attack on Zaonce it was the darkest day in Confederation history.

"But at least it was the last" She said to herself. Slightly too loudly as Jane turned to look at her.

"The last what?"

"Panetra was the last time a planet was lost" She replied. Seeing the confusion in the girls eyes, she explained "Quinzone was barely touched by comparison, despite the death toll, and as you can see Lave has recovered" She thought she had hidden the pain in her voice, but from the look that Jane gave her she decided to change the subject "We are due to dock soon. Does anyone have any plans?"

"If I may?" Mrs Daunal said "I am due to visit a very dear friend on Lave, and I would like Tom and Sophia to come with me"

"Do you want me to accompany you?"

"Unless you think otherwise I would like you to stay with Jane. She would not enjoy the trip, and would most likely be bored. If I left her with a guard she would be equally bored. The local police can provide an escort for us, and you can take Jane round the Eagle if you like"

"If that's okay with you Jane?" Eloise asked, turning to the young girl. The smile she received was answer enough "Then we will call that settled"

Turning back to the console she prepared to dock.

She had always preferred Eagle stations on the simulators since they did not spin round - gravity was simulated by two super neutron generators at the stations extreme ends.

This was quite energy consuming, and the effects were quite disturbing if you were not used to them. Plus they were far less spacious than the DoDos, which was why there were only a few of them kept in service.

The docking was a cakewalk, and minutes later they were heading to the habitat area.

Unlike the DoD's there were a great many different gravity zones, and a great many places people could live to take advantage of the varying gravity. They were going to one of the 'earth standard' gravity zones, but along the whole length of the station the gravity varied from zero to five times earth normal. Once they arrived at their rooms she left them to find the local law office.

She explained the plans for the day after and organized the agents for the protection duty. On the way back she decided to take a detour through the docking back to see if there were any ships in she might recognise. She was still seeing the guy from the arcade in her mind, and was not convinced she was not being followed.

Turning to her left she caught a reflection of a man in a shop display. Deciding to find out if she was right - if someone was indeed following her - she carried on a little way then turned down a walkway to her right.

He was still there.

A small alcove on the left provided suitable cover to see who he was. She ducked in to it and waited for him to pass. When he did she stepped out and slowly drew her gun. Walking up behind him she put it to the back of his neck.

"I am not very good with these things, but I think shooting you at this range will do at least some damage"

"That it will"

"You have a reasonable explanation for following me I assume?"

"It would be pointless to deny it then?"

"Pretty much"

"Do you remember Mr Fenn telling you there would be extra agents watching you?"

"He said an invisible presence"

"I am part of that presence. Though less invisible than I would have liked"

"I do not like being spied on"

"I am not spying. You were expected here more than a day ago. And now you are leaving your charges alone. Not exactly typical Society behaviour"

"Mrs Daunal wanted to make some changes to the schedule. What was I supposed to do?"

"Very well. But try to keep to the guidelines at least"

"Is that all?"

"For now" He turned to go, but then stopped "By the way - how did you...."

"See you? If you are going to follow someone through a shopping district, try to pick one that doesn't sell mirrors"

"Oh. Point taken"

She watched him as he walked off, wondering how many other agents Mr Fenn had watch-dogging her. Then she shrugged and set off back to the families quarters.

xoxox

"That was careless"

"I know. But she is, at least, observant"

"It is lucky Fenn is so paranoid. How else would you have explained your presence?"

"I know. But she is now a little annoyed at Fenn for spying on her. We can use that"

"I do hope so. Do you know what she plans to do next?"

"No. she appears to be letting the mother call all the shots"

"Unusual"

"And unpredictable. However she does have an ability to adapt"

"You have done well, despite your little slip. Keep watching and waiting"

"Yes sir"

xoxox

 ** The Twilight of The Human Race **

Following breakfast the next day Jane and Eloise went down to the docking bay to watch Mrs Daunal and the other kids leave for the planet. When they had gone Eloise turned to her ward and asked her what she would like to do.

"Could you..."

"Could I what?"

"Could you tell me a story?"

"A story?"

"Yes"

"About what?"

"My parents told me that humans came from somewhere outside of the eight galaxies, and that they arrived about the same time as the Thargoids" Jane looked up at her "I thought since you are human you might know the truth"

Eloise stopped to think. Her history, or at least the history Mr Fenn had given her, had her born on Vagnor to human parents. So she was officially human. But she could not acknowledge any of her real past, and if she had to tell Jane a story she would have to be careful. She looked down at Jane and - at the sight of such an appealing look - wilted.

"Okay - I will make you a deal. I will tell you about the history of humanity if you will tell me about the connection between humans and the Thargoids. I have never heard anything like that"

"Okay. But you first"

"Fine" She gave a quick look round, then continued "I think we would be better discussing this in your quarters though. Recent events have left people a bit jumpy about Thargoids"

"Okay"

xoxox

When they were back in the Daunals' quarters Eloise fixed both of them a drink.

"So - where would you like me to start?"

"Where ever you think is suitable" Jane replied, sitting down on her bed.

"Okay... where to begin..." She thought for a moment, then looked up "I have it"

xoxox

 _Earth, 2259_

Josephine Riley looked at the display screens ahead of her. She could see the crowds at the loading sight, and the countdown to lift-off. Ten minutes to go.

On the ground the crowd was silent. The arguments, the endless debates, the riots, the killings - they had all come to an end. Now that the MayFlower was leaving nothing more could be done

She remembered the stories her grandmother had told her. Of the long years before when the news was first discovered and released to the world at large.

Her grandmother had been five at the time a UEC scientist announced to the world that the mining operations on Mercury had had an unexpected side effect. That the sun had been mined too heavily, and was losing cohesion. That instead of the predicted life span of another billion years, the sun would go out in little more than a hundred years.

Jo shuddered as she recalled her grandmother's description of the events that followed. The plan to build a generational ship and send one hundred thousand colonists in to space was greeted with mixed emotions.

There was a general feeling that the UEC would chose poorly in the selection process. That enlightened self-interest would motivate them, rather than the good of humanity.

Her grandmother watched as the news reports grew darker every day - reports of protests, demonstrations, riots. For the first time since the founding of the United Earth Council some one hundred and fifty years before there was fighting on a large scale throughout the world, and there were troops on the streets of every city in every country.

The countdown had reached five minutes. Jo looked along the row of launch seats to her mother and younger sister.

Just before they were due to set off for the launch sight, Jo's mother had discovered she was pregnant. There was no more room on the MayFlower, so her parents were given a simple choice - to have an abortion, or to let the unborn child take the place of one of the other family members.

Her parents had talked it over for a long time, and there were many long distance phone calls back and forth to other family members. Then one night her parents had come to tell her that her father would not be going with them on the ship.

Like a typical six year old she had stamped and sulked. Why should she have to lose her father? She loved him. She didn't even know this bump in her mother's tummy. She had spent the next four weeks refusing to speak to either of them. She blamed her father for not loving her enough to want to come, and her mother for doing something to make her father not love her.

She looked again at Nicola. She had been born six years before and Jo - still angry about her father, had barely tolerated her.

Then came the awful day when they had had to finally say good-bye. Her mother was too overcome with grief too do much, so the ten year old Josephine was left to care for her sister.

"Why is mummy so sad?" Nicola had asked. Jo had looked at her, and realised she was just as scared as her older sister.

"She's sad because we have to leave daddy behind when we go on the big ship"

"Why?"

"There is no enough room for him"

"Can't we stay behind then? He could go with mummy then" Jo looked at her again and finally understood - after four years of sulking - why her father had given up his future for his daughters. He was halfway through his life, and they were just starting out on theirs. How could he have denied them the chance to fly in space - the chance to live?

"We can't sis. I know its unfair, but that is the way things are sometimes"

"Will we see him again?"

"I don't think so Nic. I don't think so"

xoxox

One minute to go, she thought, watching the clock. The displays showing the launch-sight had been turned off, but she barely gave it a second though as the clocks reached zero and the ship moved out of orbit.

All she could see was her fathers face as they had walked up the gangplank three years before. That night - and many nights after - she cried herself to sleep.

xoxox

 _Eleven Years Later_

"Do you take this man?" Jo was asked.

"With all my heart"

"And do you take this woman?"

"With all my heart"

"Then I now pronounce you married"

She leaned over and kissed him, then turned to the waiting crowd.

Though life in space had seemed strange at first, everyone had adapted bit by bit. New friendships were formed. New marriages were made. And on one special day - three years before - the first of the next generation had been born.

Jo looked back at her new husband - Cole - and realised if she had stayed on Earth she would have ended up marrying one of the family friends.

She came from a very small town where everyone knew everyone, and marriages were still arranged by the parents for the most part. Someone like Cole - from the other side of the world - would not have stood a chance.

"You looked radiant up there" Her mother said. Jo turned to see her and Nicola coming towards her.

"Thank you" She looked at the ring, then back at her mother "I wish dad could have seen it"

"So do I love. So does he"

"You looked great sis" Nicola piped up.

"And from what I hear you could be next". She got the satisfaction of seeing her little sister blush. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Cole. Before she could speak the ships P.A. system crackled in to life.

"Ladies and gentlemen. This is your captain. I am afraid I have some very bad news. We have received a transmission from Earth. Their last broadcast..." there as a pause, then she continued ".. Their last broadcast was full of static and noise, but the message was unmistakeable. The stations on Mercury and Venus have been destroyed. The sun has exploded and there is little chance....." She stopped talking and shut the PA system down, but everyone in the hall knew what she was going to say.

Everyone was looking around, the realisation of what the captain had said taking hold. Jo looked at her mother - sharing the thought that her father was dead, then threw herself in to her husbands arms. Nicola could help her mother, and in the long dark days ahead they could become a family again. But for now all she wanted was Cole - to be held by the man she loved.

xoxox

 _Five years later_

"Do you take this man?"

Jo watched as her little sister - her baby sister - finally accepted what she herself had known five years before. The cooing of the baby in her arms distracted her a little, but mostly she was thinking of the past sixteen years.

Of the launch day when she had lost her father for the first time.

Of her own wedding day, and the gloom that had enshrouded the ship after the news about Earth.

Morale aboard the ship had been low for a long time, and even the birth of Josephine's first child had failed to lift her mother's spirits.

The ceremony finished, and the bride and groom had turned to kiss just as the young infant in her arms had let out a long gurgling chuckle. She saw her sister smile, but resisted the urge to go to her. Instead Nicola came over to her and kissed her on the cheek.

"I am glad to see you have finally come to your senses"

"Sorry?"

"I have been telling you ever since I married Cole that he" She nodded to her new brother in law "Was the one for you"

"I know. But there was never really a good time. First the news from Earth. Then mother's death. I could not think of anything else for a long time. Finally Gil dragged me out of my depression by giving me an ultimatum. Either I marry him, or I never see him again"

"I was wondering how he finally won your heart" She smirked.

"I hated him for a long time after that - but he was right. I miss mother and father, but I can not live my life for them. They would not want it that way"

"I know. I miss them too - as well as everyone else we left behind" Then she watched as Nic walked off with her husband to start a new life.

She looked at the baby girl in her arms.

"Another wedding. Another child on the way soon. The human race has passed through the twilight of its existence - yet we have survived. Maybe we will find a new home, maybe not. But at least we can say we tried"

xoxox

 _The Eagle, Lave_

"Is that all true?" Jane asked, looking over her drink.

"It is. Some bright minded person decided to record what went on during the Long Night. Josephine, Nicola, Cole and Gil were all real people. They all had big families and as far as I know their lines continue to this day"

"You mean... they are all dead?" Jane asked, her voice shaking slightly.

"Oh Jane - I'm sorry. Don't you know anything about human history?" When Jane shook her head Eloise continued "The ship was launched on July 30th in the Earth Year 2259. First contact between The MayFlower and Navalon was about 160 galactic years ago. The time between was nearly three hundred generations - nearly 75,000 Earth years or 50,000 galactic years. Everyone who left Earth on the MayFlower died a long, long time ago" She looked at Jane who appeared to be on the verge of crying "I really thought you knew"

"No - but its okay. When you put it in those terms it doesn't seem so bad somehow" She took a sip of her drink "Just one more question"

"Yes?"

"What happened to the MayFlower?"

"It was kept in orbit around this planet as a museum. It was destroyed during the Invasion though"

"That's sad" Jane sighed. Eloise thought back to her arrival at the battle. She had not noticed the missing ship at first - it was only when Mr Fenn had escorted her back to the Faraway Point that she had realised that not only was the station gone, but so as the other great vessel.

A whole era of human history - the long night between their first and second ages, and the only link to their real home - was gone. Only the logs now remained, and that was almost as saddening to Eloise as the Invasion itself.

"It is. Now - where did you hear about Thargoids and humans"

"I hear my parents talking sometimes. They were discussing a viewpoint someone had raised in Council"

"Which was?"

"That humans and Thargoids arriving at the same time could be more than a co-incidence. Humans arrive - and almost at once ships start vanishing from The Rim. Some people - not my parents by the way - have suggested that you were nervous" Jane looked up at her.

"You came from a system where you were the only life form, and now you were being thrust in to a galaxy with thousands of other beings. So - the theory goes - you started kidnapping pilots to see what made the galaxy tick"

"Do you believe any of this?" Eloise asked, truly shocked by the suggestions about her ancestors.

"Not really - no. Coincidences happen far more often than people think. I mean - what were the odds that the Thargoids would attack Zaonce during the first full Council meeting and the trade fair? But that happened. And the attack on Lave made people stop and think"

"Well I am glad it served some purpose" Eloise replied, a little more snappishly than she had intended.

"However...."

"However what?"

"The fact the planet was left intact was viewed as a sign"

"Despite the casualties? Despite the DoDo?" Eloise could feel herself losing her temper, and realised Jane was not to blame for this. Before she could apologise Jane continued.

"I know. I think it is all just an excuse for hatred"

"It might be just that. And I'm sorry I lost my temper" She looked over at the clock "Wow. We have been talking for a long time. Do you want to go get something to eat?"

"Oh yes. I feel like I have been staring at Navy Gray walls for six years, not six days"

"There is a restaurant on the secondary end of the station. It looks quite nice from the v-chips"

"Lets go then" Jane stood up to leave, then noticed Eloise strapping on the holster she had set aside before "Is that necessary? It scares me"

"It scares me too sometimes. It scares me to think that I have to carry a gun to protect an innocent child"

"Me? Innocent? You really should talk to my dad!!"

xoxox

 ** When Needs Must **

The day after Eloise was sat in front of the controls of the Tripoli again. It was the last time she would be flying on this mission - the flight to Zaonce.

She had been surprised at how easy the trip had been, and how easily she had got to know Jane. The girl was a lot like Janie, and - even though she was older - had helped to fill a gap Eloise had not known was there. And - from what she had seen - Jane was not as close to Sophia as Eloise had been to her sister, so maybe having someone to talk to - even for a little while - had helped.

She checked behind her to see if everyone was strapped in, then signalled control that she wished to launch. When the confirmation had come through she started the ship and seconds later was shooting out in to space. Turning the ship slightly she pointed out a patch of space in the front window.

"That is where the Mayflower was in orbit before the invasion"

"Is there a memorial or anything?" Jane asked.

"The Council decided against anything until the DoDo has been completed. There is too much risk of a collision"

"But surely...." Jane stopped as she realised Eloise was paying no attention to her "Sammy?"

"I need to ask all of you to go to your quarters. Now"

"Trouble?" Tom asked.

"It could be. Now go - please"

The family moved off in to the back of the ship. When they had gone Eloise turned back to the console and flicked on all the ships defences and armaments.

Three ships were coming towards her from behind the planet. They could be a trading convoy, or on a pleasure flight. Then again a trio of ships moving towards her in what appeared to be an ambush format was not something to take lightly.

As she watched them come closer she became more and more convinced they were not their for their own good health. She flicked open the gun arrays and made sure she was ready to fire.

Although she felt her fingers flex against the fire control she resisted the urge to attack the ships. She knew if she let lose a hail of fire against an unarmed convoy that had done no wrong her self respect, not to mention her career, would be destroyed forever.

A moment later the thoughts were dispelled as the ships surrounded her. She signalled them to ask what was going on, but there was no reply. Instead the ships moved closer.

xoxox

"Do you think we will be okay?" Sophia asked.

"I don't know" Her mother replied.

"Don't you trust Sammy?" Jane asked.

"I wish dad were here" Was the only reply Sophie gave, but that provoked a scornful outburst from her brother.

"It's Dad's fault we are in this mess" He said "He could have brought us directly to Zaonce. Instead we spend our time in this barge, being attacked by any random trader who takes a fancy to it" As he finished speaking the ship was rocked by laser fire.

He braced himself as the fire continued, then - as suddenly as it had begun it was over. For a few seconds they sat in silence, then the door to the quarters opened and Eloise came in.

"I am afraid we are going to be on Lave a little while longer. The last attack damaged one of the Jump Engines, and I can't risk taking us in to witchspace without it being repaired first. We will be returning to the station shortly" She turned and left.

For a moment the family members looked at each other, then Jane stood up and walked to the flight deck.

"Sammy?"

"I asked you to stay below"

"What happened?"

"We were attacked. I defended the ship"

"The attackers?" She asked, but from the look on Eloise's face she did not need an answer.

"Did you have a choice?" She continued.

"What?" For the first time Eloise actually looked at her, rather than just gazing in her direction.

"Did they leave you any choice? Could you have stopped them in any other way?" She watched Eloise, and could almost see the thought process running through her head. A moment later Eloise answered.

"No. I was attacked. I gave them a chance to run away. I gave them a chance to surrender. I warned them what I would do if they continued. But they didn't stop. All they wanted to do was blast me in to atoms. Or us...." She stopped as another thought crossed her mind.

"Go on.." Jane prodded.

"What? Never mind. I have to dock the ship. You can stay and watch if you like"

"Okay"

xoxox

"What was your other thought?"

Eloise looked over the desk at her boss. Following the trip to Zaonce she had returned to Lave to talk to the local agent, and had been a bit surprised to find Mr Fenn on the station.

"Typical pirates don't aim to annihilate their prey. There is no profit in it. They generally want to leave the cargo to pick through, or the ship to salvage. These three wanted nothing but dust when they left"

"So you are thinking what?"

"A hit squad. Its the only thing that makes sense"

"That would imply they knew about the Councillors family"

"I know. Who else would have known?"

"Only you and me"

"No one else?" Eloise asked.

"Well - I contacted various police agencies. But I only told them it was a vital cargo shipment. Even with your arrangements there would not have been enough people to let it leek out"

"I guess so. So - how did they know?"

"I guess that is the question" He thought for a second "Anyway - thank you for your report, and your work on this mission. You are dismissed"

xoxox

"They know!!! They are on to me!!"

"Calm down. Did they say it was you?"

"No. But they know there is a leek from Fenn's office. I am the only other one who knew enough"

"Then how come they have not come after you yet"

"I am almost like a piece of the furniture. I spend so much time with him he sometimes forgets I am there"

"Then relax. If they don't know now they may never know. See you soon" He cut the line to the other person, then muttered under his breath "And if he does figure it out, well - we can always find another hole in his precious Society, can't we?" Smiling to himself he walked out of the com-booth.

xoxox

**The High & Mighty**

Eloise walked back to her ship later that day. She was still wrapped up in the attack, and at first did not see the waiting messages. When she finally saw them a smile crossed her face.

She had given Jane an address to write to, and made sure the messages would be forwarded on to where ever she was. It saved a lot of questions about why a lowly Naval Officer moved around so much.

The message from Jane was a chatty letter - about the journey, and about her new home. Eloise put it to one side, deciding to deal with it when she wasn't so tired.

She flicked the next message on, and all the fatigue drained out of her. It was a recording of an Invasion.

Of *The* Invasion - she was watching the battle over her home planet of Lave.

As this realisation hit her she was stunned to see bright white cobra fly in to shot. It was her parents' ship - she would have recognized it anywhere. Aside from the colour it had the words 'The High and Mighty' in bold blue across the top.

She watched as it weaved in and out of the fire, scoring quite a few hits on the invading ships. then - all of a sudden - it veered wildly out of control and in to on-coming Thargoid Fire. As her parents ship exploded in front of her she could feel the tears running down her cheeks

"Ship - who sent this?"

"Unknown"

"Where is the transmission id?"

"There is no transmission id. There is no record of this recording being transmitted"

'Who could have sent her a recording of her parents death?' She thought 'And how did they know where I was? And why did the ship lose control so suddenly?' Her mind was filled with questions, but she was sure of two things - there was more to her parents death than she had been lead to believe, and she would not rest until she found out the whole truth - one way or another.


	4. Choices

"Is it prepared?"

"Yes sir"

"You have a question?"

"Is it really necessary? All those people?"

"I know - it is a heavy burden. But for all of us to be saved, some of us must be sacrificed. This is for the good of The Confed. You understand?"

"Yes sir"

"Then see to it"

"Thy will be done"

xoxox

** The Meeting **

Eloise looked at her fifth cup of coffee as the waiter set it down. She paid him and looked around, following him as he walked inside. She had been at the cafe over two hours waiting to meet with.. well she wasn't quite sure.

Two days before she had gone to Mr Fenn to ask him with his help in researching the tape she had been sent. After she told him about the tape he had said he would look in to it, then asked her what she knew about a planet called Salan.

"It doesn't ring a bell, sir"

"Its part of a twin system in the M'Tema area. Salan and Malach orbit a star and are pretty close to each other"

"So what's up with it?"

"There has been a less than amicable relationship between the two planets for the last twenty years or so. I forget why it started but in the past three months it has looked as if it is going to get a lot worse. There has not been any violence yet but the police forces in surrounding systems have been put on alert"

"What does The Council think?"

"They are trying to find a diplomatic way to ease tensions. But that is not the main concern at the moment"

"What is?"

"Have you ever heard of a group called The Dark Wheel?"

"No. Should I have?"

"They are a terrorist group. From what we can gather their aim is to overthrow The Council. And from all accounts they have the numbers to do it. So you can imagine the concern generated in various quarters when we learned that Salan - in its attempts to gain the upper hand - might be allowing this Dark Wheel to operate from the plant, in exchange for various bits of assistance"

"Is it the planetary government or just a part of the population?"

"That is what we are unclear about. However we are pretty sure that someone quite high up is smiling on their presence"

"When am I leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning. You are to meet with someone who we think is on the inside. She has been on the governments watch list for a year or two and is looking for arms dealers"

"Her name?"

"Tamala. She lives in the capital city and has been contacted by a potential source. A pirate by the name of Amber Lewis is going to fly to Salan and meet her tomorrow night"

"Amber Lewis"

"That would be you. You will meet this Tamala and find out what you can about The Dark Wheel and about Salan's future. Follow any leads you can and when you are done come back. Whatever you find I want you to understand two things - the first is that since this is your first time undercover I want you to be careful. If Tamala or anyone else suspects you then the results could be very bad"

"I understand"

"Good. Secondly - remember you are doing a great service for The Confederation. So do the best you can"

'So far' she reflected 'The only service I have done is to drink four cups of coffee. And to sit around in the sun. Not a very auspicious start to my undercover career'. If nothing happened soon she was going to find another coffee house to sit around in. 

The local police had been past a few times - once more would be taking too much of a risk. When Mr Fenn had first told her about Amber Lewis she hadn't totally grasped the implications.

"Amber Lewis is a historically - even legendarily - famous pirate. She is currently wanted to numerous crimes across all eight galaxies. She has the reputation of being able to get anything for anyone. That's why Tamala has contacted her. But there is another thing she is famous for. She never, ever gets involved with Slave Traders. Don't forget this - it is the most vital part of her character"

What Mr Fenn had not told her - until much later - was that she would be in character the whole time. From the moment she entered Salan space she would be a wanted criminal and the local authorities would be looking for her.

As she sat waiting for either her would-be partner to meet her, or the police to come and arrest her, Eloise's mind went back to the tape. Fenn had promised to look into it but she did not hold out much hope. Whoever had sent her the recording had done an immaculate job of covering their identity - even with the resources The Society behind him she doubted Fenn would find anything useful. 

She was curious about who sent it but as he mind started to drift she saw a police car travelling down the main road towards her. At the same time a woman walked in to her eye line.

"Miss Fairchild?"

** With A Cause **

The room was small and empty. Eloise sat at a table whilst Tamala scanned the walls for listening devices. When she finished she pressed a button on her watch and turned to the door.

Moments later two men walked in. They both came over to Tamala and hugged her. The girl hugged them back then turned to Eloise

"Miss Fairchild"

"If the room is secure you can call me Amber"

"Amber then. These are Andos and Heldar - my brothers. And my name is not Tamala - its Leetar"

"So - Leetar - what can I do for you?"

"We are a small army. The government does not know we exist, but they will - soon. Our numbers are increasing every day - we are on the verge of great things"

"What things?"

"We can discuss that later. What I was going to say was we are an army - or we will be. At the moment we have the people and the will - but we are lacking one very important thing if we are to succeed"

"What is that?" Eloise asked, though she had a fair idea already.

"Supplies. Weapons and so forth. Ever since the skirmishes in the latter part of the last decade there has been an embargo on munitions and so on. Add to that a need to feed this army, once our... our project starts you can see why we would need a steady supply line"

"And you think I can be that?"

"You do have a reputation for being able to get anything for anyone"

"At a price"

"No price is too great..." Andos started, but stopped at a look from his sister. Eloise smiled slightly.

"You should pay more attention to her Andos" she said "Because if a more unscrupulous person than me heard you say that then you could well be taken for a ride. Sadly - for me at least - I am an honest woman and will not charge more than what I think the going rate is"

"So will you help us?" Leetar asked

"That depends"

"On what?"

"On why you want the weapons and supplies"

"Is that any of your concern?" Heldar asked "As long as you get paid I would not have thought you would care what happens"

"As I said before - I am, for a wanted criminal, an honest woman. I have certain rules about who I trade with - and I always follow them to the letter. If you can not satisfy me that you fall inside these boundaries then - no matter how high the price may go - I would have to decline"

"Very well" Leetar looked at her brothers, then turned back "What conditions?"

"Tell me why you need these weapons and supplies"

"Our group is going to take a stand for the people of our world. We are going to free them from the tyranny they are under"

"You are going to attack Malach?" Eloise asked, for once not faking the surprise in her voice

"No - what good would that do?" Andos sounded as surprised as she had "The government has been doing that for years and it has not got them anywhere"

"So.. what?"

"We are going to force our government to secede from The Confederation" Heldar replied - and from the look on his face he was serious.

"How are you going to achieve this goal? And are you sure it is legal?"

"While we are fairly sure the methods we are planning to employ are not legal we have looked up the original Mandate that was signed by Clexia herself. The Mandate was an invitation to join a co-operative of worlds - The Confederation - and to stay as long as they wished. But if the government of the planet expressed a desire to leave The Confederation then they would be allowed to put their case to The Council"

"How well known is this fact?" Eloise asked - she had never heard of it and was not totally convinced that it could be that easy.

"Not very. At the time the Mandate was drafted and signed everyone was happy with it, and with The Council. The War had taken a terrible toll on every system and peace was a much better option. And until the Thargoid attacks started most of the galaxy was happy with the way things were"

"So what changed?" Eloise asked.

"The Council" Leetar said, and she started pacing up and down the room as she continued "Since the death of the original Council in the Zaonce Bombing the leadership of The Confederation has been lacking. The appointment of the New Council was not done properly and it shows" She paused, then shook her head.

"They take too little notice of the out laying worlds and take too much notice of the inner ones. Lots of planets have been affected by the Invasions but only those close to Zaonce or militarily important appear to get serious attention"

"So you don't think aid should be given in proportion to need?"

"If the person who judges the need actually knew what system had what needs rather than assuming a high-tech industrial world has more need than a low-tech agricultural one. But every single time it appears to go with the high-tech worlds. Those that supply the armed forces"

"So what do you plan to do? And what do you think the result will be?"

"Why? If we tell you our whole plan how can we be sure you won't go running to the police?"

"Aside from the fact I am more wanted than you at the moment? The reason I want to know is this - you say The Council is tyrannical?"

"Yes. It holds all the low-tech worlds in virtual enslavement to the high-tech ones"

"And so by freeing the planet you hope to escape this enslavement?"

"Yes. And to inspire other systems to do the same"

"And what will you put in its place?"

"Nothing. Once we are outside of The Council's power the government will do just fine"

"So none of you will attempt to take power - to rule?"

"That's what you are afraid of?" Leetar asked with a slight smile "You think we are doing this for personal power?"

"It has been known to happen"

"Why would it bother you?" Andos asked "It is not like you are going to settle down here"

"I mentioned before that I had various conditions if I am going to agree to this. The most important is that I have your word that the guns and so on will not be used to enslave others on this world. And that you will not sell the guns on to others who might do the same"

"And you think if we took power that.."

"Anyone who wants power is usually the least suitable person to have it. And if you wanted power over everyone on the planet then.."

"I can put your mind at rest. We know we are not capable of governing this planet. But we also know the current rulers are to busy with Malach to see what needs to be done"

Eloise looked then over, then stood up.

"I will consider the situation, and contact you in a short while" She turned to leave, but Heldar stopped her with a question.

"I am curious about one thing" He said "You have a reputation for being ruthless and vicious. Some of your exploits are legendary. You yourself said you could get anything to or for anyone"

"You had a question"

"Why are you so skittish and hesitant now?"He locked his gaze on her "From all accounts this should be a simple transaction for the likes of you"

"Lets just say I am still not totally convinced of your abilities, or your goal. If you do force secession then there will be a power vacuum. It is what will fill that vacuum that is making me hesitant"

"Is there anything we can do to convince you?"

"I think not. But I will be quick in my deliberations. One way or another you will know"

"That is all we can ask for" Andos said "Let me show you out"

xoxox

** The Gift Horse **

"Do you know the best way back to the shuttle port?" Eloise asked.

"In about five minutes there is going to be a small explosion by the power plant on the far side of town. Most of the police will be drawn that way as it signals the start of a protest against a local tax on books"

"Your doing?"

"In part. The local council is not popular at the movement and rousing local anger was not that hard. We had to find a way to get you off the planet"

"I am that important to you?"

"Not so much you - but what you can do for us. We need you and your talents"

"I haven't said if I am going to help you or not"

"What is it that is holding you up on that? Do you not think we can win?" He glanced at her "I see you don't"

"My feelings on that are not what's holding up my decision - I told you I just want to make sure your motives are pure" She paused, then continued "But since you asked - I don't think you are going to do any good"

"I thought as much"

"I will not lie - I don't really care one way or the other as long as I get paid. But from a personal standpoint I don't think you have the right to be asking to throw their lives away on a pointless cause"

"So why do you think it is pointless?"

"Because you are unprepared. Even when you get the weapons you are not going to be able to use them"

"And why is that?"

"If The Council stands up to you - if they decide that The Confederation should stay whole - then there will be no way to fight them. The Navy will come and blockade the planet. So unless you are doing this as a prelude to war - and I don't think you are, you will be forced in to retreat"

"You are most likely right"

"So why are you doing this?"

"Because you don't always fight the battles that you can win. Sometimes you fight the battles that need fighting"

"Even if you all die?"

"We believe that The Council is wrong. That forcing a planet to stay aligned is tantamount to slavery. If we can get this message across to the rest of the galaxies then maybe we can make enough people listen" He looked her squarely in the eyes "If just one person acts because of our message then all of this will be worth it"

"Even your deaths?"

"Even those"

A moment after Andos stopped talking a loud explosion came from the south

"That's your cue"

"Goodbye. You will hear from me"

Half an hour later she was crouched at the edge of the shuttle pad. Andos has been as good as his word - she hadn't seen a single police cruiser the whole way back. However the pad was a different matter. 

The city police were following the standard protocol during a 'terrorist' incident - all of the possible exits from the city had been blocked off. She guessed that road blocks were being set up in a perimeter to cut off the possibilities of escape.

Looking over the layout of the shuttle pad she suddenly saw the flaw in the police's formation. The back of the shuttle pad was made up of the FC tower and two huge generators. They provided backup power should the city grid fail. They backed on to a fifty foot square sub-station - covered entirely in electronic generators. To try to cross it would be suicidal - the electromagnetic currents and waves inside would play havoc with a person's brain functions. 

The police - knowing this - had laid out their guard leaving the area by the FCT unwatched. Eloise figured that she could do one of two things - she could risk brain damage and potential death and sneak in the back way or - and this was looking like a much better option - she could use the layout to distract the police. A perfectly placed thermal charge would disrupt all the power and throw the place in to confusion. 

She reached in to her backpack and pulled one out. They were not exactly standard issue - it was a small but powerful device that could either work by a timer or on remote. She figured putting it down in front of the FCT she could create the situation she needed. Standard protocol said that during an attack on the shuttle port all shuttles would take off to avoid destruction. If everything went to plan she could prep the charge, move to a shuttle and board it before it left. It was a perfect plan - except for one thing.

Ever since she was a child she had had a very vivid imagination. She was always making up stories - usually to tell Janie. And some of her stories had even been exhibited in The Dome before its destruction.

So now all she could see in her head was the explosion and the casualties. Even if she timed it perfectly there would still be a few injuries - some could be fatal. And they would be squarely - solely - on her head.

She had done a lot of things since Lave had fallen, things she never would have considered possible before the invasion. But murder was not amongst them. She realised deliberately killing someone - or a group of people - was beyond her. Even taking a chance of killing someone by her actions was something she couldn't do.

She was about to stand up and walk away when she heard a siren go off at the far side of the pad. As one the police turned and started moving towards the source of the disturbance. Realising this was her only chance Eloise ran over to one of the shuttles and snuck on board. She looked out of the window and saw a solo fighter shoot off in to the sky. As the shuttle launched she wondered if Leetar was responsible for the diversion or if Mr Fenn's influence could stretch all the way to Salan.

She departed the station less then half an hour later with very little trouble.

An hour later she was in front of Mr Fenn on Zaonce. Given the reputation of Amber Lewis she had expected some trouble on the flight in from Salan, but none had materialized. Though she was happy she hadn't had to fight it was all a little disconcerting.

"So you don't think this group had anything to do with 'The Dark Wheel'?" He asked.

"No sir. They are not connected to the official government and they appeared to be independent"

"Do you think they will succeed?"

"In forcing Salan to secede?"

"Yes"

"Not really sir - no"

"Any particular reason?"

"They are not ready for what The Council can do. They lack weapons and so on, but that will not be their undoing, even if Miss Lewis does betray them. They will be undone by their inexperience"

"Explain"

"Leetar and Heldar are babes in the wood. They have a romantic notion of how this will play out. That they will fight a heroic cause and through their unwavering stance sway opinions on The Council. Andos has a more pragmatic stance - he hopes their deaths and the deaths of those who follow them will light a beacon for future rebels"

"Hmm. Well - thank you for your report. Are you sure you found no traces of The Wheel?"

"None that I saw. But - as I said - that doesn't mean they aren't conspiring with Salan"

"Yes. So - what now? You have leave time coming up if you wish to use it"

"I do sir. There is still the matter of the tape, and I promised Jane Daunal I would visit her in her new home"

"Well - enjoy the trip. Planning on going anywhere?"

"If her parents are willing I figured I could take her to another planet. From her letters I gather she does not get to fly a lot. So I thought Reorte or Diso"

"Not Lave?"

"No sir. I would like to visit, but the chances of someone recognising me are too high. If I was on my own it wouldn't be a problem but with Jane... No I think I will steer well clear of Lave this time"

xoxox

** Livesey's Fury **

Less than a week later Eloise was thinking back to her last words with Fenn, and wondering if he was smiling.

She had stayed on Zaonce to see Jane and had found out her brother was missing. The girl was obviously worried about Tom's disappearance, and Eloise was planning to start her vacation by finding out as much information as she could. She figured she could use her contacts, both in The Navy and The Society, to track down the wandering sibling and bring him home.

But life was never that easy. On her first night at the Daunal's she and Jane had been sitting down to dinner when the Councillor had come in. He sat down wearily, head in hands, and sighed. He must have realised the two girls were staring at him because he looked up and smiled slightly.

"I am afraid I will not be able to have dinner with you tonight Jane. The Council has called an emergency session. I have to be there in an hour"

"What is wrong, father?"

"Lave has declared a planetary emergency and called The Council for aid"

"Why?" Eloise asked, trying to keep her voice steady. Planetary emergencies were not something to take lightly. Whatever had happened could be nothing less than a catastrophe.

"About six hours ago there was a major earthquake centred under the Livesey Desert near the equator. The effect has caused a cascade reaction throughout the planetary plates and by the time the tremors had finished - nearly four hours later - over ninety percent of the surface had felt its effects. Most of the cities have been ruined - the Capital was hit worst of all" He sighed again.

"From the reports coming in transportation, medical care, communications and government have all collapsed. The first minister has suspended all laws, declared a state of emergency under martial law and requested aid"

"You will grant it?" Eloise asked

"Most likely yes"

"Dad?" Jane asked

"Yes dear?"

"Can I go there?"

"What?" Eloise and Jane's father both asked the question at the same time, then turned to look at each other.

"You have always taught me that the first duty of life is to serve the common good"

"Yes, but..."

"They will need as much help as possible, and I would be doing nothing here"

"Honey, I understand you want to help but Lave is under martial law - it won't be safe"

"I can protect her" Eloise spoke up. She had been planning on returning to Lave to help, even before Jane had announced her plans. She even managed a little smile when Councillor Daunal turned to look at her.

"Are you sure? You are on vacation"

"I know - but I came here to spend time with Jane. If she is on Lave what am I going to do? Besides - your daughter is right - I can not go out in good conscience and enjoy my vacation when people are suffering and dying"

"So what do you say father?" Jane asked.

"Is there any chance I can you will take no for an answer?" He asked with a smile.

"No" She smiled back.

"Okay - I will let you go on two conditions"

"Which are?"

"Firstly - you are to fly to The Capital and stay there. It is not that I distrust the people of Lave but the Capital will be safer than anywhere else. Second - you obey Sammy at all times - come what may she will be in charge"

"Okay Dad"

"And Sammy?"

"Yes sir?"

"I am entrusting you with my daughter's life. The last time I did this you did not betray it. I hope this time won't be any different"

"Don't worry sir - I will protect her with my life and make sure she comes back to you as good as new"

So, three days later she found herself in the flight centre tending to the wounded. It was one of the only buildings left untouched in the earthquakes - proving the designer's claim that it could withstand anything. Most of the wounded had been brought to the centre because the hospital built after the invasion had collapsed. 

Thankfully there had been no-one in there - of all the times it could have fallen down two days before the grand opening was possibly the best.

She looked across at Jane and, for maybe the thousandth time marvelled at this girl she was looking after. 

In the day and a half they had been there Jane had organized the relief teams in the local area into some sort of proper group. Though she wasn't old enough or skilled enough to help in any medical way she had done enough fetching and carrying to supply an army. Along with that she had marshalled most of the cities children in to helping her, along with a fair portion of the adults.

Whether she came by it naturally or she had been coached by her father, Eloise didn't know, but the girl had the ability to talk to adults in an adult way and the children in a kids way. However she had come by the talent it would stand her well in later life, and it had certainly helped the people of the Capital. A lot of the injured and wounded that had been brought in to the Centre might have been overlooked if Jane had not sent out the number of search parties she had.

Eloise looked down and realised she was done. The Society had given her basic medical training - first aid and so on, enough to help her do triage along with the medical teams. The guy on the table in front of her had come in with a broken leg and a couple of fractured ribs. She had cleaned his wounds and splinted his leg ready for one of the doctors to fix him up properly. 

She looked at her watch and realised it was later than she thought - nearly nine in the evening. Looking over at Jane she couldn't tell if her young charge was tired or not, but Eloise knew she herself was. They had been working in the flight centre since eight that morning and, aside from a break for lunch, had barely stopped. 

Not since the days she had spent at The Society training centre had she worked so hard for periods of time as long as this. Even in all of those long hours and days she had never witnessed as much suffering and death as she had this day. It had tired her out more than she thought possible.

She looked over at Jane again and saw her yawning. 'That settles it' she thought 'We are leaving'. She indicated to one of the doctors that she was done preparing the guy then walked over to her friend.

"Jane, we should go. Its late and you are tired"

"No. I'm not" she replied, then yawned again. Looking up she caught Eloise smiling down at her "Ok Sammy - maybe I am a little tired, but there is still so much left to do"

"I know, but no one person can do everything. You are only fifteen years old - far too young to take the responsibility of the galaxy on your shoulders. And if you try to burn your candle at both ends you will not last the night, let alone tomorrow"

"Yeah. I know. But I would make such a pretty light" Jane paused and looked around "We have done well, haven't we?"

"Far better than I thought we would. And most of that is down to you" She smiled affectionately down at the girl "You should be very proud of yourself" Jane looked around the room they were in, then turned back to her.

"Where are we going to sleep tonight?" She asked, changing the subject to cover her blushing face.

"In the Rose I am afraid. There is no where else suitable. Half the places in the area are either collapsed or endangered, and everywhere else has been taken over by the medical teams. My ship is the only place left"

"Then lets go" The girl said "It will be dark soon"

"Jane it is way past dark. But we should go" She guided Jane towards the exit and slipped the gun that had been in a holster under her jacket in to the back of her trousers. As soon as she had agreed to bring Jane to Lave she had known it would mean a little extra protection. The reports of disturbances across the planet had been few and far between, but Jane's safety was paramount - even over her own dislike of guns.

The White Rose was parked a short distance from The Centre and the two young women arrived there quickly. While Jane went to the back of the ship to her sleeping quarters Eloise went to the flight deck to check on her messages. 

She had been promised a weeks leave but these were turbulent times and a week was a long time - time enough for an invasion, for civil war - for almost anything.

As she switched the console on she reflected on the day, then groaned. There was a message to call Mr Fenn as soon as she was available. Punching in the connect code she saw her boss's face come up on the screen.

"Ah - Samantha. I am sorry to... Lave?" He looked at her in surprise "Lave?"

"I know. But you must have heard the news sir"

"Yes"

"Well Jane Daunal was pretty insistent about coming to Lave to help, and her father would only agree if someone wise and trustworthy would go with her"

"I understand. And it makes this all the harder. I need to recall you to duty"

"Now?"

"In a day or so. We have a problem"

"What sort?"

"I will tell you about it when you come back"

"When do you want me back sir?"

"The day after tomorrow. Will that be okay?"

"Yes sir. Jane and I can finish up here tomorrow and I will take her home tomorrow night. I can fly to..."

"Zaonce"

"Then I can be in Zaonce tomorrow night"

"Very well. I will see you the day after tomorrow"

"Yes sir"

As she turned the console off she heard a noise behind her.

"We are leaving then?" Jane asked.

"I am afraid so. I have to be back on Zaonce by the morning after tomorrow"

"So you are going to take me home?"

"I can't leave you here. You know that"

"When are we going?"

"Early tomorrow night"

"Why not the following morning?"

"Sorry?"

"We can work all day tomorrow and leave early the next morning. That should get you back to Zaonce on time for your meeting"

"You are not going to give up on this are you?"

"We have done so much here, I would hate for us to leave it half done"

"I guess. Okay - you have convinced me"

They worked through the following day, making sure everything would carry on when they left. Then, after a brief nights sleep they took off from the planet. Eloise contacted Lave flight-comm and got permission for the faraway jump. Engaging the engines she pushed the ship in to witch-space.

"Do you think Thargoids really have the ability to hover in here?" Jane asked.

"I don't know - there have been plenty of rumours and so on, but you can see how much energy it takes just to ignite the jump point and travel through it at this speed. To hover in this realm would take an almost unlimited supply of energy. If they have mastered this ability then the Thargoids, as much as it kills me to say it, deserve to be congratulated"

There was a pause in the conversation as she guided the ship back in to real-space. The space around Zaonce was pretty clear at that time of day and in a few moments they were flying in to the docking tunnel.

Landing in the docking bay she turned the crafts systems off, then they disembarked. She realised they were running a little late and turned to Jane.

"I know I said I would come back with you, but I really should get to my meeting. Do you mind?"

"No - I have been up and down from the station before. The local officers know me and generally watch out for me"

"Good. Give my regards to your father and remember to tell him how well you did"

"I will" She smiled and walked down to the shuttle bay. As Eloise watched her go she heard someone come up behind her.

"Nice girl" Mr Fenn said.

"Yes. And bright" She turned to her boss "She accomplished a great deal on Lave, and the relief team is certainly much better organized than before she arrived"

"So I hear. And she did this on her own? No guidance from her father?"

"None at all. Her father did not want her to go and only agreed when I said I would protect her. She did it all herself"

"Then she is indeed a bright young girl"

"And not the brat you would expect for a daughter of The Council. On the whole a very nice young girl"

"I am glad. Now - if you would like to come this way we can get started"

As Eloise followed him to one of the upper conference rooms she thought about Jane. During the trip she had begun to form a friendship with the girl far quicker than she had thought possible. Maybe it was that Jane reminded her of her sister - even though she was a little older. 

They were so much alike that Eloise had found it easy to talk to her. And she found herself looking forward to seeing her again.

She looked up and saw that Fenn had paused in front of the door.

"Well - we are here"

xoxox

** The Application Of Force **

"Sammy - I would like you to meet Casey Bartholemew. He will be coming with you on your next outing"

"Casey"

"Sammy"

"Now that we all know each other maybe you would like to know what your next mission is?" Fenn asked

"Sorry sir" They said in unison

"Very well - we have a problem" He passed out a couple of files then continued "This is Malcorm Delina, from a planet out on the edge. He was recruited in to The Society six years ago and was recently moved in to one of the counter terrorism groups. That was about six months ago. Two days ago he left the centre on Trieste with no hint of where he was going. Yesterday afternoon I ordered his log files opened and it appears he is a plant"

"From whom?" Casey asked

"We are not sure, but the pervading feeling is The Dark Wheel. And..."

"And don't tell me" Eloise finished "The group he was working with was investigating The Dark Wheel"

"Correct. The general feeling is that he is going to take all the research we have and turn it over to them. Along with six years worth of Society information you can imagine the sort of damage we are looking at"

"If he gets there" Cased said. Eloise looked across at him with a questioning gaze

"How do you know he is not there already?" She asked, looking back at Fenn

"He knows we are on to him and he has gone to ground. Our best guess is he is waiting for a contact before he makes his move"

"You know where he is then?"

"Yes. We have tracked him to a planet called Sondaw"

"I haven't heard of it" Eloise glanced across at Casey, who shrugged

"Its in the fourth galaxy. We have booked passage for the two of you on a jump-liner this afternoon. You two are to take your ships across to G4 and prevent him from taking the information to The Dark Wheel"

"Prevent him?" Casey asked

"I would like you to bring him back so we can find out what he knows, but you know how we operate. The security of The Society - of The Confederation - is more important than any one person. So if you can't bring him in then you can use whatever force you deem necessary to stop him"

"You are authorizing the use of deadly force?" Eloise asked "It is that severe?"

"Yes Sammy - it is that serious. Aside from the stuff about our investigations in to The Wheel's activities the amount of information he has gained about us since he joined can not be allowed to fall in to the hands of a terrorist organization like The Wheel. If they get their hands on all the information we have collected about them then they will be able to advance their plans more quickly than they might otherwise" He looked at each of them in turn 

"The results could be disastrous - far worse than any recent history. That information can not be allowed to call in to enemy hands. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir" They both replied

"Good. The transport leaves at 2:30 this afternoon, so don't be late"

"No sir" They stood up and left the office together. Casey nodded to her and they went their separate ways.

The first thing she did was go down to her ship in the docking bay. With the prospect of combat in the near future she did not want to be caught flat footed. As she ran The White Rose through its pre-flight checks her mind drifted back to the meeting. 

She knew that occasionally the application of force was necessary to protect those she loved, and to protect the ideals of The Confederation she lived in. But to act as a hit squad? They were going out to hunt down someone, potentially to kill him. Somehow it felt wrong to her - fighting in space was one thing - those who attacked space going vessels were clearly guilty and deserved all they got. That was part of frontier law and everyone accepted it. 

But to fire first on someone who had not actually been convicted of a crime? There was something very wrong about this, even if she couldn't put her finger on it.

Later that day she met Casey outside of the docking bay. The transport was due to leave half an hour later and they were preparing to go.

"Are you ready?" She asked

"Yes. Sys-Con has been told we require priority departure so we can leave at any time"

"Then lets go" She moved off, heading towards her ship. In addition to the disquiet she felt about the mission there was something about Casey that worried her too. He was a little too ready for this mission for her liking. Still, she reflected, it was better than having a scared rookie with her.

Five minutes later she was out in space and heading for the jump-liner. She had never seen one before - they were located at only a few systems in each galaxy. They were massive ships - usually around four times the size of a DoDo station. 

This was part of the reason they were so rare - the size of them and the cost of the anti-gravity systems they carried was vast even if it was necessary. If there were no generators to negate the forces generated by the massive ships it would very likely have disastrous results - pulling planets off course, crushing DoDo's as they passed. All in all, she thought, not the best thing for the galaxy.

She piloted the ship in to one of the many docking bays and made sure it was secure before heading off toward one of the travel lounges. The journey would take at least an hour, if not longer. Because of the immense amount of energy required to complete a faraway jump to another galaxy it was impossible to start or finish the journey within a planetary system. The ship would fly out to the very edge of the Zaonce system before starting the jump. 

When they arrived in the fourth galaxy it would be in a system called Rotep-J - one of the major junction systems in the galaxy she had learned. From there it was a two system jump to Sondaw. Baring any mishaps they should get there before the end of the next day.

"Sammy?" She looked over and saw Casey coming over

"Yes Casey?"

"Mr Fenn asked me to tell you we need to contact the purser on the way across. He is part of the team and has two receivers for us. They are grade two com-devices so we can contact Mr Fenn when we arrive and when we are done"

"Okay. Do you think you could pick mine up? I need to get some sleep"

"Sure. I heard about you and young Jane Daunal - the work you did on Lave"

"Really?"

"Yeah. Its all over the news broadcasts. You and she are being portrayed as the heroes of the whole thing"

"It was mostly Jane. I just went along for protection and moral support. She did all of the work and organizing"

"If you say so"

"I do. And now I really have to get some sleep" She stood up and walked off to her cabin. She had slept two or three hours the night before and was more tired than she thought. Given the business ahead she figured there might not be a lot of sleep in the near future.

Three hours later she awoke as the ship gave a massive shudder. Looking at the starts she guessed they had just come out of witch-space. That would give her about half an hour before they had to disembark. Throwing back the covers she got ready to face the public again. And to see what galaxy four was like. 

In all the time she had served The Society she had not had any reason to leave the first galaxy and before that the situation had been far too dangerous for her parents to travel too much.

"Rotep-J Flight, this is The White Rose asking for docking clearance"

"White Rose, this is flight-con. Set your process clock for two minutes then proceed"

She clicked the system clock on and waited for the count down to finish. Guiding her ship down the tunnel she heard the voice of the system-controller telling her to proceed to level seven, berth twelve. She turned the ship in to the bay and shut down the systems.

Casey caught up with her at the exit of the docking bay.

"Did you install the transmitter?" He asked

"Yeah. The plug-in modules definitely make things a lot easier"

"They did it because they re-use them so often. Its rare for agents to go out of their galaxy and even rarer for them to go often enough to keep the same module. So the transmitters are shared as needed"

"Makes sense. So what's the plan?"

"It should take an hour or so for the ships to be prepared for the next leg. I guess we could get some dinner before we leave. The next station is waiting for us and preparing for us as we speak, so that should be a short stop. We won't have time to eat later so I suggest we eat now"

Eloise could find no reason to argue with him, so she nodded, still slightly groggy from her sleep. Maybe the food will wake me up, she thought.

Through most of the meal she sat and half listened as Casey prattled on. He talked about his past and his service in The Society. She nodded at the appropriate moments and gave the answers she thought he would want.

Then, when he asked her about her family, she started telling him about the family Mr Fenn had created for her. She didn't know how many in The Society knew of her true history - Mr Fenn was the AICG, so she figured it might be only him, his aide and his superior who knew. Not wanting to take any chances in blowing her cover she had not told anyone about her past, opting instead for the life on Vagnor that Fenn had given her.

The meal ended and they went back to the docking bay. Their ships were ready and both of them were anxious to get going, if only because they wanted to reach Sondaw before it got too late. She didn't know why but Eloise had the feeling time was of the essence, and that there would not be enough of it.

xoxox

** For The Confederation **

They had arrived at Sondaw the previous night and, after contacting Mr Fenn they had left word with the stations Sys-Con to notify them if anyone matching Delina's description passed through customs in either direction. From Mr Fenn's briefings they were pretty sure their target was still on the station, but it would take too long to search all the possible places he could be staying.

Casey had suggested they wait for Delina to go to customs where he would be unaccountably delayed by a computer break down. Then they could simply arrest him before he could get space-borne. It would make things a great deal easier.

She had been asleep for an hour when her comm-unit bleeped. Casey was calling her.

"We have to go. The agent on the customs desk has just contacted me. It seems our friend is waiting at the entrance to bay seven"

"Fine. I'll be there in five minutes"

"Okay"

She clicked of the unit and got out of bed.

Five minutes later she was striding down the hallway to the docking bays. The guards were still holding Delina at the entrance and in five minutes she would have completed her mission with out the need for bloodshed. Despite her worries from the previous night she had a feeling that things might actually work out.

The feeling evaporated moments later as Casey came running towards her.

"He's gone" He said simply

"How? When?"

"He was held just as the custom guys were changing over. 

It seems one of the officers who came on had not been told what was going on. She fixed the computer glitch before anyone could stop her and sent him on his way"

"So where is he now?"

"In the docking bay. After their error on customs I convinced Sys-Con to delay his departure until after we leave. We can catch him before he reaches the faraway point" He walked towards the docking bay then turned when she didn't follow him right away

"Are you coming?"

"We are going to force him back, aren't we? We are not going out to commit murder?"

"We are going out to prevent the information from falling in to the wrong hands" He walked off and, after a brief pause, she followed him.

"Sys-Con, this is The White Rose. I have a priority launch order"

"Acknowledged White Rose, proceed to the bay exit and proceed up the tunnel"

She engaged the engines and slowly flew the craft in to the main bay. She watched as Casey's ship passed up the tunnel ahead of her. It was an interesting sight and not one that you saw very often. Both ends of the tunnel were protected by an energy web which prevented any stray shots from lasers entering the tunnel and causing damage. 

And when a ship passed through it it warped slightly. The effect was negligible when you were in a ship, but watching it from outside was quite disconcerting.

Moments later they were both outside the station and moving to an intercept point between the DoDo and the faraway point.

"White Rose, this is The Orion. Are you ready?"

"Orion, this is White Rose. I am in position. Has he left the station yet?"

"His ship has just come in to range. Can you wait here and I will contact you?"

"Sure" She watched as his craft pushed forward, then pause in space. The ship coming towards them slowed down then stopped. Eloise flicked on her com-unit

"You know why I am here" Casey's voice

"Fenn is out of control. You know it. I know it" That must be Delina, she thought

"You are just bitter about the promotion. You are in the wrong and you are just trying to play both sides against each other"

"Oh please. I know why I am doing this and if it were just my future you would be right. But everything I am doing is for the Confed. If Mr Fenn gets his way..."

"Come back with us. We only want to help you and protect the galaxy we live in"

"As soon as we get back you are going to kill me. Don't pretend you are doing this for my benefit"

"Whether you like it or not you have no choice. You are surrounded and you are coming with me"

"Don't bet on it" Eloise watched as his engines flared to life, then he shot past the stationary Orion. Eloise jumped, then turned her ship to follow him. Turning her defence systems on she programmed the targeting computer to hit his engines and weapons systems. If he couldn't run then he would have to fight. And if he couldn't fight then he would have to surrender. Pressing the trigger she let fly with a hail of laser fire, hitting all of her targets with total accuracy. 

The fleeing craft suddenly stopped and floated dead in space. Fearing she had done too much she turned the com-unit on, planning to call him. Before she could get her first word out a ship streaked past her port side and began firing. She tried calling out but there was no answer. In front of her eyes the ship she had carefully disabled exploded in a ball of flame. 

As the attacking ship drew to a halt she realised it was The Orion. Casey had killed their target for no good reason. Feeling the anger rise inside her she turned back to the station.

"What the hell was all that about?"

She had barely left the docking bay when Casey had come up behind her. It was all she could do not to turn around and hit him.

"What do you mean?" She asked, clenching her fists

"You were going to let him go. You know what is at stake with all this and you let him go"

"He was helpless. I was about to ask him to surrender when you came through and blasted him in to little bits"

"I saw you attack him, then pause. I figured your systems had frozen and you needed help, or that you were going to let him go"

"Well duh! I had him where we needed him - he would have had to give himself up. But instead of waiting to find that out you just came in with all guns blazing. So instead of finding out what he knew - what he could have told them - we end up with one dead prisoner"

"I did what I thought was necessary. And what was required of both of us" He turned and walked away, leaving her fuming because, despite her anger about the situation she knew he was right. He had no way of knowing her plan - all he would have seen is the attack proceeding as planned, then stopping suddenly. If their positions had been reversed she would most likely have done the same thing. So why was she so angry with him?

She looked at her watch. Figuring Casey would be contacting Mr Fenn about the completion of the mission she guessed she had time to get a little sleep before they left for Rotep-J. The jump ship was not going to leave until the next day, so they could not be in that much of a hurry.

_"Where were you?"_

_The voice came again, as it had so many times before_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"You should have gone. They needed you and you let them down"_

_"I went - I fought"_

_"You didn't do what you knew was right. You hid from your responsibility"_

_"I went. I fought"_

_"Too late. It is all too late"_

_Outside her ship she saw the planet beneath her turn to flame. As the flames grew higher and higher she realised the ship was out of control. She couldn't stop it as it plunged in to the heart of the flaming mass beneath her.  
She woke up screaming as she had so many times before._

_"Why can't you let it go? Haven't I suffered enough yet?"_

"Sammy? Are you awake?"

She woke up at the knocking sound. Casey was outside and clearly wanted to get her attention. She had barely slept the night before - her dreams were getting stranger by the day for some reason.

"Yes. I'm awake. What's wrong?"

"There was an urgent call from Mr Fenn"

"When?"

"About five minutes ago. He wants to talk to both of us in ten minutes"

"Did he say what about?"

"Only that the future of The Confederation is at stake"

"So what else is new?" She said to herself, then out loud she said "Okay - I will be there shortly"

Nine minutes later she was seated next to Casey in the cockpit of his ship. The com-unit blinked into life.

"Ah Casey, Samantha. Good. I have processed your report and fully endorse your actions. You have done a great service for The Confederation"

"Thank you sir" Casey replied

"But we have another problem. Yesterday afternoon at three thirty Zaonce time a group calling themselves the SSC declared Salan an independent system. They have demanded the right to total autonomy and complete independence from The Council's rule"

"Cessation?" Eloise asked

"Yes. And about five hours later, in an emergency session, The Council voted to reject their demands and deny them the right to secede"

"I take it the news was not related well on Salan?" Casey asked

"There has been no official response yet but one should be coming any time soon"

"Any ideas what that might be?" Eloise asked

"Well the predicted responses are either severing of trade, diplomatic and or military links, or some sort of military response. With that in mind I need both of you back home as soon as possible. The Council has asked the Navy to call of its troops and pilots. They are expecting you - Sammy - to report by the end of the week. Casey I need you back at base in case things go wrong"

"We are ready for the jump-liner when it leaves tomorrow afternoon"

"Good. I will see you tomorrow then" With that he signed off, leaving his two agents sitting in silence

"We should get going" Casey said "If it is as bad as Mr Fenn indicated it could be war"

Eloise walked back to her ship, mind whirling with all the news. Why had Casey submitted a report without her input? She had not been allowed to mention her part, and he suspicions about Casey's part in it. And now Salan was in open revolt? Mr Fenn had known about Leetar's actions and plans for a while now. Why did he sound so surprised that Salan was now demanding independence? And - most importantly - what was going to happen so Salan, and the future of The Council? If war were to break out then where would it all end?


	5. Wars, Far And Near

In the galactic year 24,758 a small planet in the third sector of the first galaxy rebelled. The general population of Salan demanded independence from the rule of The Confederation and asked for home rule in all matters.

Mere hours after the call The Council rejected their demands, saying The Confederation needed unity and cessation could only weaken the security of the galaxies.

Two days later the Salan Cessation Council responded by recalling its ambassador to The Council, expelling all the other diplomats on their world and cutting off all ties to the rest of the galaxies. They promised to abide by Clexia's Mandate and support their neighbouring systems should it be requested, but aside from that they isolated themselves.

The response from The Council was equally swift. A day after the attempt by the SSC to achieve defacto independence The Navy was sent to Salan to impose a blockade. No ships were allowed to enter or leave the system. It was an absolute enforcement of Salan's decision to cut off all ties. 

By cutting off all imports and exports to the planet The Council hoped to force them to cave in and come back to the fold.

It was a dangerous gamble - The Council risked alienating the public as a whole by forcing Salan's hand, but they were sure public opinion would be on their side.

xoxox

** V.I. **

As the alarm went off Eloise sat up in bed and looked around. The barrack room was the same as when she had gone to sleep. It wasn't much of a shock, but every day she woke up she wished for a brighter more decorative room. And every day it was the same drab six by six.

"How long is this going to go on for?" She wondered. By the calendar on the wall she had been on patrol in Salan for two months. The routine had not varied in all that time. She spent twelve hours off duty, mostly sleeping. 

The floating barracks was not the most exciting place in the universe. It was pretty much a big ship with docking bays for the fleet of fifty ships on patrol, and rooms for the pilots and support staff. There was a small rec room, but on the whole it was a dull place to be.

The other twelve hours were spent flying prescribed routes around the space that covered the Salan system. The rules were pretty simple - anyone trying to leave the system was stopped and turned back. If they resisted then they were disabled and turned back. Only if they resisted very strongly could deadly force be applied, but even then only as a last resort. Anyone trying to enter the system was similarly treated - they were stopped on the outer edges, given fuel then sent back. Despite the blockade they were enforcing The Council had agreed to allow Salan to provide fuel for any ships being refused entry. 

It would not support the Salan economy, the cost of fuel was barely a splash in their annual income, but it would free The Council from the burden of turning back ships.

So far they had not had to shoot anyone down, which she was thankful for. A couple of ships had been forcibly turned back to the station after a minor incident but that was about it. They people of Salan appeared to be content to wait it out. This was the part that was worrying Eloise. From the meeting she had been to on Salan she had got the idea that Leetar and her brothers had been preparing for their little war for sometime. It would be easy to stockpile supplies of food, fuel, spare parts and so on. It was quite possible the population could sit it out almost indefinitely.

Having attended a quick briefing from Mr Fenn before she came to Salan she knew The Council wanted a quick solution to the problem and did not want a prolonged stand off. Two months was beyond their projections and from various sources she was getting the idea that The Council was becoming uncomfortable about the situation. Some of them wanted to step up the embargo, others wanted to negotiate. And all of them were concerned that the opinion of the general public was changing - there were pro-autonomy groups springing up all over the galaxy and support for Salan was growing every day. If the stalemate was not brought to an end quickly then the repercussions could rip The Confederation apart.

Climbing in to her ship she thought about all the problems. The Council would eventually grow tired of watching and waiting and try to force the issue. How they would do that was not entirely clear. Short of invading Salan or planetary bombardment she could not think of a single way. If Salan ran out of supplies before The Council's ran out of patience then they would try to run the blockade. Or try to attack it. Then it would be a bloodbath. Gunning her engines she decided that couldn't happen. Somehow she would find a way to keep the peace.

xoxox

"Is it confirmed?"

"Yes. He has been traced to Darmalon"

"Do his family know?"

"No sir. It is doubtful the Councillor has been able to trace him. The boy has been very careful about not leaving a trail. He has changed his records a fair amount"

"Have you tracked his records back? Are you sure he is the one?"

"As far as we can tell - yes. He is wanted in four systems for various crimes and in another two for questioning. There is little doubt that he is the pirate we are looking for"

"Thank you for the news. I will take care of it"

xoxox

She had been on patrol for three hours when the return to base call came. When Eloise tried to find out what was going on she was simply told she was required on the barrack ship at once.

"Samantha Wrae reporting, sir"

"At ease. There is a message coming through for you"

"From whom sir? Any why have I been called to see it?"

"You have been called in because, pending your decision, you might be pulled off patrol duty. The call has come from the office of Councillor Daunal"

"Very well. May I use your com-unit?"

"By all means. Would you like some privacy?"

"No. I am sure it isn't serious" She flicked the unit on and waited as the symbol of The Confederation came up. It cleared as the caller came on the screen.

"Jane?" Eloise could not have sounded more shocked if she had tried.

"I'm sorry Sammy. I had to contact you and this was the only way to make sure you got the message"

"That's alright" She turned to her CO and said "Its The Councillor's daughter sir. We formed a friendship during an escort mission and..."

"I understand Miss Wrae"

"Thank you sir" She turned back to the console "So what's up? And why are you calling from your dad's office?"

"I received a message from an anonymous source. It says that Tom has been sighted in Darmalon"

"Is the message believable?"

"As far as I can tell. It has footage from various cameras. They are all pretty clear"

"I know you said it was anonymous but is there any clue as to who sent it?"

"No. It came from a public unit somewhere in the city. You will go, won't you?" Eloise paused before she answered Jane's question.She knew it had been coming, but did not know what to say.

"I'll tell you what - if you give me half an hour I can check this for myself. I have various sources in The Navy and if Tom is there we can decide what is to be done"

"But.."

"I'm sorry Jane, its the best I can do. I am on duty - and you know better than anyone about what that means. By the way - does anyone else know about this?"

"No. I didn't want to get their hopes up if I was wrong"

"Right. I will call you back in half an hour with any news"

"Ok. And thanks. And say sorry to your commander for my deception"

"I will. Bye" She shut down the unit and turned to the commander. "Sir..."

"Don't tell me. You would like half an hour to check out the facts"

"If it is at all possible sir"

"This girl - she means a lot to you?"

"She does sir. And she had been very concerned about her brother for a while now"

"Very well then. Don't think I am in the habit of doing this, but I will grant you compassionate leave. It will start now, for a week. If you need any more then contact the sector command on Navidad"

"Thank you sir. It should take less than that if Tom is where Jane says he is"

"I do hope so - for your sake as well as hers. No one deserves to lose a sibling that young"

Eloise returned to her room and set up a link to Darmalon. She had a friend in the Records Office there - an agent she had met during the inauguration. As the screen flicked on she smiled.

"Hey Tanas. How's it going?"

"Pretty well Sammy. To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"

"I need to check something out - a guy might have come in to the station in the past few days"

"No problem. Do you have the ship name?"

"Sorry. I know the name of the ship when it left Zaonce, but I think he has changed it a few times since then"

"Okay - do you have a name?"

"Tom Daunal. But he could be using an alias"

"You really want to torture me don't you?"

"I do have a picture if that is any help"

"Wonderful. I feel better already"

"I knew it would help" She transmitted the picture across a sub-channel "How soon can you get back to me with this? I don't want to rush you or anything but I am in kind of a hurry"

"I can check the customs records for the last week and get back to you in fifteen minutes?"

"Great. One other thing...."

"With you Sammy there always is"

"This guy - he is the son of a Council member. If he is there then I would rather keep it between us"

"Sure - no one else will know"

"Thanks"

While she waited she pondered the near future. If Tom was on Darmalon and he was changing his ships registry then the odds were very good that he had become a pirate. And she would have to do something about that.

And, in the meantime, the stand off would continue round Salan, with the eventual result getting closer every day. She had a bad feeling that if she left before the stalemate was resolved then it would go badly for everyone concerned.

The call came back sooner than she expected.

"He is here Sammy. He arrived two days ago in The Azabeth, and though the GCFRO has no evidence to take to the Police he is under suspicion in a few systems for piracy"

"I thought as much. Is he still on the station?"

"Yes. And there is no indication of when he is leaving"

"Good. I might be seeing you in a day or so" She flicked off the screen and sat back. Now she knew that Tom was on Darmalon she had to do something about it. She could contact Jane and tell her she was going to find Big Brother, or she could contact Jane and tell her she could not abandon her post on Salan.

Or - she thought - I could just go. Commander Jameson had indicated she could leave if she wanted, and if she simply went off to Salan without telling Jane then she could find out what was going on without raising anyone's hopes.

Flicking the unit back on she programmed in a message for Jane that would be sent after Eloise left the barracks. She was kind of breaking her promise to the girl, but she could not talk to Jane yet, not without knowing if Tom had indeed turned to piracy.

Calling her CO back she asked for the leave, then started planning the journey that would take her to Darmalon, and to Tom. She had no idea what she would find when she got there, but the bad feeling she had been having all day had just got a lot worse.

xoxox

** Frontier Law **

"Darmalon station, this is The White Rose. I am requesting permission to dock"

"White Rose, this is Darmalon station. You can proceed. Once inside the tunnel proceed to level nine, berth 28"

"Thank you" Eloise turned her ship towards the access tunnel on the station and once again wished The Society would fit her ship with a docking computer. She understood the reasons why no agent was permitted to have one - it dulled their reflexes and did not keep them on their toes. 

The ability to slip a craft in to the access tunnel was one every pilot had and generally took for granted. But Eloise knew it was one of the two most complicated parts of space flight. And it was the part she hated most, without question. Matching the ports rotation, keeping the speed level, balancing the thrusters so that the ship remained straight at all times. Any deviation from this could cause an accident at best, a major disaster at worst. 

Every time she started the docking procedure she was terrified that she would repeat the monumental crash of her flight test. And every time she managed to pass into the access tunnel without incident.

"Someday I will get used to this" she said to herself as she navigated her way through the cavernous docking bay. 

As she reached the assigned berth she breathed a sigh of relief. Another docking over with. She turned off the systems and left her ship. She had arranged a meeting with Tanas to get the latest news on Tom's movements. The Azabeth was still listed as 'in port' but given Tom's recent movements it was quite possible that he had changed the registry again. If that had happened then all her hopes would be dashed.

xoxox

"So Sammy - hows life on patrol?"

"About as exciting as you would imagine. You fly around a planet for twelve hours a day. Then you go off duty and spend twelve hours in a barrack ship that is flying round the same planet. Then you do it all over again the next day, then the next. You can't break up the monotony by going to the station or the planet because - oddly enough - the embargo fleet is not welcome there"

"Sounds fantastic"

"You have no idea. If I were you I would cherish life as a recording officer"

"Maybe. So - what are you going to do?"

"I don't know. He is a pirate - I am sure of that. Even if I convince him to go home he would be required to stand trial. Given that he hasn't killed anyone yet the sentence would not be severe, but it would be enough to prevent him from ever flying again"

"So.."

"If I don't try my best to make him go home Jane will never forgive me. All I can do is try"

"From what we can gather he will be leaving later today. You can either stop him on the station or wait for him to go in to space"

"I would prefer to talk to him here on the station. If he gets in to space there is the chance he will run and then anything can happen"

"I have his room number if you want"

"If you could"

"Section Five, Level Twelve, Room two-twenty one"

"Thanks"

They finished lunch talking about general things, then Eloise went off to see if she could find the wayward sibling.

Five minutes later she was stood outside the room Tanas had sent her to. There as no indication of who was in it, but it was occupied. She pressed the bell-panel and waited.

Moments later the door slid open and she heard a voice say "Come in". She moved her hand to the top of the shock-staff she carried and stepped in to the room.

"Hey Sammy. I figured you would track me down sooner or later"

"Tom"

"Yeah. It's me" He stood up and came over to her "Did Dad send you?"

"No. Jane called me a while ago, but with the earthquake on Lave and other matters this is the first chance I have had to follow up any leads. Jane called again a few days ago and said you might be here"

"Why did you come?"

"I promised your sister I would try to find you"

"So now that you have found me, what are you going to do?" He asked, noticing her hand on the shock-stick.

"That is pretty much up to you" She replied, moving her hand to her side "I know you have got involved in some crimes and that you would have to stand trial if you do go back to Zaonce. But I won't force you in to anything. If you want to stay or runaway I won't stop you"

"But you think I should go home" From the tone of his voice it was clear it wasn't a question.

"I do. Ignoring the fact that your father is very concerned about you, Jane is worried silly. To get me here she asked me to leave my post on Salan - skipping out on my duty - and pretended to be your father to make sure I would get the call. It is hard to face the prospect of losing a sibling - so don't put her through it"

"I know you care Sammy, but I can't go home. I have committed crimes - you were right about that. And my father won't be able to forgive that"

"He loves you"

"Maybe he does. But he is a public figure, and he has always had standards that he has enforced on me and Jane and Sophia. If I go back I would have to go back to living that way. I can't do that"

"So you'll just go on as a pirate?"

"It's a living"

"Not a very good one. Or a very honest one"

"You are one to talk"

"Sorry?"

"You are repressing the rights of a whole population, and killing those who stand up for themselves"

"I don't have to defend myself to you Tom. All I want to know is will you come home?"

"Give me time to think about it"

"You have until three this afternoon. After that I will have to go tell Jane you aren't going home"

"Ok. I will get back to you by then"

She stood up and turned to leave. As she reached the door she turned back.

"You haven't killed anyone yet, have you?"

"No"

"My advice is keep it that way. The moment you start down that path you are a changed man. It is not something I would wish on anyone"

"You have killed"

"I know. And every time I close my eyes I see the ships I have destroyed and the faces of the pilots. If you stay on the run this is the life you are facing" She left the room, hoping she had convinced him. It was a long shot, but telling him about her experiences was the only shot she had.

xoxox

"Sammy?"

"Yes Tanas?"

"We have just had a report that The Azabeth is leaving"

"Oh dear. I am on my way" She looked at the clock. It was only half past two. He was running.

xoxox

By the time she had made it to her ship Tom was already clear. With the assistance of Tanas she launched in record time and set off after him.

"If he makes it to the faraway point" she said to herself 

"I have had it" Then her proximity alarms went off. 

Glancing out of the front of her ship she saw The Azabeth ahead of her. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw three more ships moving in on an attack vector.

At first she thought they were coming after her, but after forming a triangle around her ship they shot straight past her and went off in pursuit of Tom.

"What could they want with him?" She wondered "There is not much of a bounty on him yet and he is not worth attacking in combat" She flicked on her com-unit.

"Tom - can you hear me?" No answer came back, only static. Either his unit was broken or the trio was jamming the channels. She pushed the engines in to high gear and flew after the departing ships.

Before she could catch up with them she saw the laser beams flick between the ships. Though he put up a good defence at the start she could see he was clearly over matched. As she caught up with them she found one ship disabled, but the other two were pounding Tom's ship without mercy. 

She let loose a shot or two at the attacking ships, but they would not be deterred from their course. She sent out a warning message but it was ignored and before she could do anything else Tom's ship exploded. She scanned the wreckage for any signs of life but didn't find any. She also didn't find any cargo pods, which was unusual after a pirate attack.

Realising she would soon become a target for the two remaining ships she veered off to the right and turned towards the faraway point. She turned her weapons systems on just in case, but she wasn't followed.

As she cleared the faraway point and entered witch-space she sat back in her seat. How was she going to tell Jane that her big brother had been killed before her eyes, and she hadn't been able to stop it?

xoxox

** Clancy's Triangle **

Her stay in Trieste was short. After the emergency jump from Darmalon she had arrived there and as soon as she had docked she had called the Records Office. Asking for details of her most recent encounter she found out that the ships that had attacked Tom, in what she could not help but think of a professional hit, had not been registered. And their departure had not been listed from Darmalon or any nearby system.

"So either they have a new engine that allows them to fly through many systems without refuelling, or they have a way to avoid docking checks" The though of either of those was not pleasant.

The good news was the film from her recorder showed that Tom had been attacked without provocation. It would not be much of a consolation to Jane or her family, but it would be something.

xoxox

"Councillor Daunal"

"Sammy" She had flown back to Zaonce the day after. She had collected all of the evidence she had, and could not put off the visit any longer. She had arranged a meeting with the Councillor first, to explain what had happened.

"I'm sorry I have to come with this news, but I thought it would be better coming from me than you hearing it on the news"

"You have news about Tom?"

"Yes sir"

"Is it good news?"

"No sir. It isn't. I tracked him down to Darmalon, and went to meet him"

"Did you find him?"

"I did. He did not want to come home at first, but he did say he would before I left him"

"But?"

"As we were leaving the station we were ambushed by a trio of pirates. He tried his best but he was totally out classed"

"He is dead then?"

"I am afraid so. Sorry" She watched as he started pacing back and forth.

"You suspect something more?" He asked after a long silence.

"What makes you think that?"

"The tone of your voice. And you sounded hesitant when you described the ambush"

"Do you remember your family's arrival from Trieste?"

"Yes"

"We were attacked on our departure from Lave. Although I filed a report saying they were pirates they attacked more like a hit squad. They did not appear to want to take our cargo, or the ship. They either wanted me or your family"

"Why didn't you report this?"

"I did sir, but with the situation as unstable as it was my boss thought it best to keep it under wraps"

"They didn't think to inform me that someone had attempted to kill my family?"

"As I said sir, it was only a suspicion. I only filed an informal report on the matter and only because I felt it was my duty not to leave anything out"

"Very well. I will let it go this time, but in future I would prefer to know everything that involves my family"

"Yes sir"

"What does this have to do with Tom?"

"Again it is only a suspicion - nothing I can prove - but the ambush tactics were almost identical to Lave. I think they were going after him for reasons other than piracy"

"Thank you. Is that everything?"

"Yes sir. You have the reports on all the rest, and here is my flight recorder log for the time between leaving the station and my jump to Trieste" She handed over the data tapes, then said "Would you like me to tell Jane?"

"Thank you, but no. The family will deal with this as a family. Its better this way"

"I understand. Now if you will excuse me I should be getting back. My leave is almost up and they will be expecting me back at Salan" She turned to leave but stopped when Daunal spoke up.

"Salan?"

"Yes sir. I am part of the embargo fleet"

"Haven't you heard?"

"Heard what sir?"

"The revolution is over"

xoxox

"What happened?" Eloise returned to Salan to find the barrack ship preparing to leave. She had been granted permission to dock and board before it made its departure. She had gone straight to Commander Jameson's office to find out why the rebellion had ended.

"As fas as we can tell a group opposed to cessation, one based on the planet, snuck in to the SSC headquarters and killed the leaders. In addition they destroyed most of the supply dumps, forcing the rest of Salan to give in to the embargo"

"Just like that? No arguments or fighting?"

"Most of the public apparently didn't care one way or the other. As long as life went on as normal they were content to let it go on"

"But when normal service was interrupted by the supplies being destroyed they changed their tune?"

"Yes. So two days ago we received a message from the Salan Council saying they surrendered. And now they are back under Confed rule we don't have to stay here"

"Any ideas where we might be going next?"

"Not yet. Most of the squad has been recalled to base, but you have been asked to go to Reorte"

"Asked by who?"

"I don't know. It was just passed on as part of the regular orders"

"Okay. If I may take my leave of you then?"

"Sure. And Sammy?"

"Yes sir?"

"It has been a pleasure serving with you in the line"

"You too sir" As she went back to her ship she thought about what Jameson had told her. Though it could have fallen out like her CO had told her, it just seemed to improbable to Eloise. Something else was going on. Whether Jameson was in on it or not she didn't know, but she was certain something was in the works. When she arrived in Reorte she would contact Mr Fenn to see if he knew anything more.

xoxox

"Is she on her way?"

"Yes sir"

"And the stories about Daunal's son - they are becoming public?"

"As we speak"

"Good. The Councillor is becoming too powerful in the chamber. This should keep him quiet for a while at least. Time enough for us and our friends to put our plans in place"

xoxox

"Reorte station, this is The White Rose trader asking for permission to dock"

"White Rose, this is Reorte Sys-Con. Please hold for an emergency docking, then proceed to level eight, berth nine"

She adjusted her system, then waited for the emergency docking. Moments later two Moray ships streaked past her and in to the tunnel with an ease she envied. She hadn't heard any RemLoc signals going off when she had entered the system so what ever had happened had happened a while ago. When she was sure the crisis had passed she guided the ship towards the tunnel and in into her assigned space.

She was about to shut the ship down when her console started beeping.

"Receive" The screen flicked on to reveal the fact of Mr Fenn.

"Sammy - good. Can you come to Conference Room eight on the diplomatic level as soon as possible"

"Yes sir. Is there a problem?"

"Just get here as soon as you can" He flicked the screen off leaving her sat there in puzzlement.

"What is he doing here?" She asked herself. Then she finished closing the ship down and headed off to the conference room.

xoxox

"Sir?" She pushed the door to the conference room open when there was no answer. In the room she found Mr Fenn talking to a young woman. When she entered they both turned to her.

"Ah - Samantha. Thank you for coming so quickly. I would like you to meet Geraldine McKittrick. She has been on Diso for the past six weeks and has come back with a serious problem. Geraldine?"

"Thank you. I went to Diso just after Salan tried to secede because there was a good lead that it was the source for the SSC - supplying weapons and food and so forth. I spent a fair while tracking down all of the leads I picked up and I think I have come up with something"

"However" Mr Fenn continued "Since the revolution ended the leads have dried up a little. Geraldine has come back with a little evidence and something more troubling. Do you remember your trip to Salan just before the rebellion?"

"Yes sir. You sent me to look for The Dark Wheel"

"Right. Well the evidence Geraldine has collected points towards a cell on Diso as well"

"We recorded a number of signals we could not find a source for whilst on the station" Geraldine said "Most of them were heavily encrypted - far beyond anything the military use"

"What makes you think it is The Dark Wheel sir?"

"We are not sure" Mr Fenn continued "But it is one of the more likely options. Whatever the cause it is something we need to investigate" He paused, moved to the end of the table and picked up a data pad "We want you to go to Diso and see if you can make contact with this man" He handed a pad to her.

"His name is Clancy Kayeley. Or at least that is what we think it is. He is a lone trader who generally operates a route between Diso, Lave and Trieste, running spices and so on. However in the past few months he has been running increasingly heavy loads and upgrading his ship a lot. And he has been on Diso when all of the messages tracked were sent and in the general location of where they were sent from. Either he is involved with The Dark Wheel or he knows someone who is"

"When do I leave?"

"As soon as your ship is ready to go. I need not tell you how important it is that you find this man and the rest of the group. If they are not found and dealt with soon the consequences for the galaxy could be disastrous"

xoxox

** Aggression Misguided **

"She is coming here?"

"It appears so. Fenn suspects a cell is here and he has sent her to investigate"

"Are you going to talk to her?"

"I don't know. Part of me thinks she would be an excellent recruit for us, and after the events on Salan we need more help than ever"

"But..."

"But as far as I can tell she is still working in support of Fenn. I don't know if she would believe me, or if she would go running back to Fenn with the details"

"We will have to take a chance at some point. Either we try to recruit her some time in the near future, or we..."

"Or we deal with her another way"

"I know it is not how we work, but she has the potential to be a serious threat to everything we are working for"  
"I know. But she is so gifted - it would be a crime to waste such a precious resource"

xoxox

It wasn't until she arrived at the bar that she realised which bar it was. The pilot's bar on Diso Station was the same as it had been two years before. It was here she had learned about the invasion of her home world. Here she had seen the Thargoid ships destroying everything she held dear. 

The memories of that day came flooding back to her - the flight to Lave, the battle, the death of her family. In the two years since then not a single day had gone past without her thinking of her family and everyone else who had died over Lave and, as she sat in the bar, she whispered a small prayer for them all.

Realising that her thoughts were distracting her from her goal she looked around again. The description of Clancy was vague to say the least and the picture was not the clearest she had ever seen - any number of patrons of the bar could fit the attributes listed in front of her. She was trying to decide which one to approach, or if to approach any of them at all.

She stood up and walked over to the bar. She asked the bartender if anyone had been in, but it simply shook its head. Turning back she looked around the bar again. Out of the corner of her eye she caught someone leaving the room. A familiar someone, though she could not place him at first.

She set off to follow him, but suddenly a fight broke out on the other side of the bar. Before she could reach the exit the fight had spread and a chair came flying through the air. Ducking to avoid it she lost track of the man she had been following. 

She left the bar and looked up and down the corridor, but could see no sign of him. She thought about going back in to the bar but from the noise level coming from there she realised it would be a waste of time. She wasn't going to get anything out of the patrons now - except maybe a fight or a few punches. Instead she looked up and down the corridor, only to see the stations police coming towards the bar - hopefully to stop the fight.

Walking down the corridor she decided to look in to the docking lists, to see if she could recognize any of the ship names. The more she thought about the man she had seen the more she became convinced he was someone she had met before. Maybe it was this Clancy guy, or another of Fenn's agents.

She went to a public terminal and was about to call up a list of all the recent arrivals when an alarm started to sound. The terminal in front of her shut down, then flickered back to life with the emergency symbol. The alarm continued and then a voice came over the general address system.

"Attention all personal. The station is under attack. Everyone is asked to make their way to the evacuation shuttles. Anyone with a ship in dock should proceed to the bay and evacuate as soon as possible. Priority is being given to Navy, Police and Hospital ships but all other craft will be cleared to leave when they are ready to go. I repeat - the station is being evacuated"

Without thinking Eloise turned and headed towards the docking bay. Even during the Race Wars - even in the Great War - no one had ever attacked one of the DoDos. 

The odds of a Cobra, or even a Viper, doing any damage at all to the outside of the Station were negligible. If the authorities were calling for a complete evacuation of the station then it could only mean one thing - the Thargoids had come to Diso.

xoxox

By the time she arrived at the docking bay the evacuation was in full flow. A line of police Vipers was making its way up the escape tunnel, followed by five or six Navy Asps. After that she could see the remaining ships in the bay were following them out. She went down to her ship and was quickly given permission to leave. 

Joining the line of ships she was soon heading up the tunnel and out in to space. The area around the station was already thick with wrecks, and many of the ships leaving were simply trying to flee the killing zone. Eloise contemplated doing just that, but only for a moment. 

She served The Council and she served The Confederation - if she fled and left Diso to its fate she would be betraying the trust of both of them - and she would never be able to forgive herself if she did that.

Off to her left she saw to evac shuttles headed for the planet. And behind them, closing fast, was a Thargoid ship. The evac-ships would be helpless as soon as the pursuing ship got in to firing range, and from a quick glance round there did not appear to be anyone else who could help.

Switching on all her defence systems she turned the craft so she could interpose herself between the fleeing ships and the rapidly advancing Thargoid. She was hoping to get its attention away from the two shuttles. It was quite a gamble - if she misjudged the evac-ships were as good as dead, but she could not think of any other way to set about saving them.

Seconds later her ship came under fire from the Thargoid. Her shields screamed their objection to this, but she ignored them and returned fire, all the while keeping an eye on the retreating shuttles. They had nearly reached the atmosphere of the planet below - relative safety. She decided it was safe to flee from the craft attempting to kill her. 

She span the ship round and headed for the station again. The Thargoid tried to follow her but span out a lot wider than she had. In a moment she had banked the craft round and charged full speed, weapons blazing at the octal she she had recently been at the mercy of. Seconds before she would have collided with it it burst in to a ball of flame and she pulled to the right to avoid the flaming ball of wreckage.

She had scant time to enjoy herself - the battle was still raging behind her and though it looked like the Planetary Defence Force had the upper hand she knew how quickly things could change. 

She flew back to the station, planning to join the line of ships that had formed to defend the DoDo and the cover the escaping ships. As she flew into formation she spotted two Morays leaving the station. They were clearly heading somewhere - and they would need some cover. A Viper had flown over to accompany them and she sent a quick message burst to the police ship saying she would fly on his wing. The acknowledgement came back and she pulled in to the space on the left of the little convoy.

As they flew through the carnage around the planet she saw where they were headed. A Python class freighter was drifting dead in space, with three escape pods arching round it in near orbit. The two hospital vessels moved in to pick up the escape pods up, and she and the Viper circled the area, keeping an eye out for potential problems.

Seconds later two things happened at once - her ships proximity alarm suddenly started beeping wildly and the Viper exploded. She saw an octal ship coming up from behind the Python. The Moray ships had started back towards the station with their human cargo so there was nothing to keep them there longer than necessary. 

She could run, but the Thargoid would follow her and if she lead it back to the station there could be a massacre. She checked her sensors again to confirm the hospital ships were well out of the way - they were. She turned her attention back to the Thargoid coming from behind the Python.

"The empty Python" she thought. She had seen the crew leave in the Morays and the ship itself was pretty much dead to the world. 

"But the fuel and the engines would still be there" she said to herself, then smiled. For big explosions nothing could beat a huge fuel dump waiting for someone to throw a lighted match in to it.

The Thargoid ship had reached the rear end of the Python when she attacked. Targeting the engines of the empty freighter she let loose a stream of laser fire. Moments later the engines on the disabled ship exploded and - with a little extra help from her - the resulting fire ripped through the whole length of the ship, taking the Thargoid with it. 

She gave a yell of triumph as the two ships vaporized in front of her. Her smiles increased as the all clear signal sounded through her com-unit. The invasion was over and despite the massive loss of life she knew they had got off pretty easy. The station was still intact, as was the planet below. On the whole Diso had come off pretty lightly. She could not wait to report back to Mr Fenn.

xoxox

** The Power And The Glory **

"What the hell did you think you were doing?"

Eloise actually took a step back from the desk. She had never seen Mr Fenn so angry. She had been planning to debrief him about the events on Diso, but before she could get a word out Mr Fenn had started yelling at her.

"I'm sorry sir?"

"You damn well should be Miss Wrae. I sent you to get evidence about The Dark Wheel, and about the threat they pose to the security of The Confederation"

"I know"

"And how much use would that information have been if you had ended up with your atoms spread across Diso space?"

"Are you blaming me for the Thargoid attack sir?"

"No Miss Wrae. I am not blaming you for the Thargoid attack. However you had a clear chance to leave Diso with the information. You didn't take it"

"No sir. I did not"

"You have a reason I presume?"

"Yes sir"

"So?"

"I thought it best for me to stay"

"Really?"

"Yes sir"

"Miss Wrae - The Society has invested a great amount of time and effort - not to mention money - on your training. You are one of the best infiltration and research agents we have. And your space-combat skills are second to none - some of the best I have ever seen. As a result you have a duty to put those skills to proper use. You do not, however, have a duty to fight a battle that was already being fought by someone else"

"Is that all sir?" She asked

"Why? Do you have anything to say in your defence?"

"Yes sir. If I may speak frankly?"

"Always"

"You are right - I am very good at what I do. At what you trained me to do. But you also instilled in me the reason why we are doing this - why I am what I am"

"And that is?"

"For the good of The Confederation. You said so yourself. My mission to Diso was to uncover a threat to the security of The Confed" She paused, trying to think of how best to phrase what she was thinking "How will it serve the good of The Confed if I stand by and let the people of The Confed die? What good is keeping it secure when all of its members are dead?"

"I understand your point of view..."

"No sir, I don't think you do. If I am one of the best of the best, trained to work for the good of The Confed and its members then how can I justify putting my welfare above theirs? The moment I do that I compromise and betray every principal I live by - the very reasons I am doing what I am doing" She stopped talking and sat down. 

In front of her Mr Fenn stood looking at her impassively. After a moment or two of silence he smiled.

"Do you bring this passion to all of your work Sammy?"

"Only when I am annoyed sir" She smiled back.

"Now - about the information you brought back?"

"And it was getting so well too. I thought I saw someone I recognised - possibly this Clancy guy. But..."

"But what?"

"Well while I was following him there was a slight disturbance in the Diso System. You might have heard about it?" She tried to keep from smiling, but failed.

"So you came back with nothing then?" Despite the implied failure his voice was level and calm.

"Sorry sir"

"I wouldn't worry about it. Sometimes circumstances conspire against you - it happens. And with the disruption the invasion caused I suspect what ever operation might have been there will have moved on" He looked down at his desk, picked up a data-pad and started reading it. She waited for him to speak, then - after a couple of minutes of silence - she asked him if there was anything else. 

He put the pad down and looked up at her. "As a matter of fact there is. Despite my objections you stayed to fight at Diso. Now that you have explained your reasons I can read the report from the Diso FRO. They recorded your actions during the battle and the awards and rankings committee were very impressed - to put it mildly" He smiled at her.

"To destroy one Thargoid ship is a rare achievement - to take down two is almost unheard of. The last recorded time this happened was during the invasion of Lave. The pilot of the 'Cosette's Dream' died soon after" He glanced over at her "I assume you have heard of that incident?"

"I have a passing acquaintance with the pilot in question sir" She smiled "I am told that she was very pretty"

"Yes. Well - to get back to the point the Diso FRO have contacted the central office and told them that you - Samantha Jane Wrae, performed a very good service today. You destroyed two enemy ships and saved the lives of countless people at major risk to your own. They proposed and central office agreed that from this moment you are granted leave to call yourself Elite" He put the data-pad down and smiled at her.

"I wanted to be sure you were not fighting for the wrong reasons. The Thargoids killed your parents two years ago, and although I was fairly sure you were not fighting in revenge I had to make sure. You put your life on the line for countless strangers who will never know. No greater duty could be asked of you and you earned your new rank" He handed over a small gold pin "You now have the right to call yourself Elite, and wear this badge with pride"

"Thank you sir. I am honoured"

"You should be. According to records dating back to the founding of The Confed in 6109 you are the youngest pilot to be granted this honour"

"Then I will try to live up to the rank as best I can"

"I hope so. And for the last piece of news - I am granting you a months leave. After the last few weeks I think you have earned it"

"Thank you sir"

xoxox

As she departed the station, heading towards Zaonce to visit Jane, she looked at the pin on her chest. Elite pilots were few and far between, and tales about them were legendary. And now she was one of them. It was a great feeling.

xoxox

**Interlude One**

In the weeks following the attack on Diso a number of systems throughout the first galaxy called on The Council for the right to secede from The Confederation. Though none of them attempted the de facto cessation Salan had tried their calls became stronger and more widely heard.

In a short time The Council agreed to hold a public debate about the future of The Confederation. For only the third time since the original signing of Clexia's Mandate all the delegates from the seven hundred systems in the primary galaxy gathered in the Grand Chamber on Zaonce.

Chief amongst those systems calling for independence were Dalmon, Larada, Housat and Sacpe. Represented by Councillor Soonlah of Larada they presented their case for independence from the 'lesser' Council that now ruled The Confederation.

Councillor Daunal spoke for holding The Confederation together - that during the war against the Thargoids only a united Confederation would see the galaxy through.

As the delegates retired to consider their choices the political pundits were saying that the mood of The Council would be for granting independence to those planets that requested it.

After three days The Council reconvened. But before the meeting could being a priority one communication came in to the Grand Chamber. 

Councillor Daunal read the message, then suspended the debate indefinitely. He announced that the systems of Vagnor, Dalmon and Triest had all been invaded by the Thargoids, and that all three had been almost totally destroyed.

Following the announcement the delegates returned to their home systems to organize the relief efforts for the three planets.

The calls for cessation were not repeated.


End file.
